Juraian Knight
by Taka
Summary: In performing a single act of kindness, Ranma's life is torn asunder, leaving him on the brink of death. In return, Ranma leaves to seek revenge on those that wronged him. Crossover with Tenchi Muyo
1. Prologue: The Stage Is Set

A lone figure stood on top of a low rise building near the  
outskirts of Okayama's city limits. His raven hair was tied into a  
pigtail which was whipping around from the nights strong wind.  
The teen, no more than 16 years old, stood watching cars drive to  
and fro on the busy road below him.

People heading home.

In the distance a siren wailed and the young man hung  
his head. A quiet sigh escaped his lips. It had been nearly five  
months since the incident.

It appeared that he would have another busy night ahead  
of him. He could quit, but he wouldn't. He couldn't stop now.  
If he did, all the deaths... all the lost friendships, all the pain he had  
suffered. . . it would have all been for nothing. And he couldn't let  
that happen. 

He jumped from the roof and landed lightly on the top  
of a car driving in the direction of the sirens. Kneeling to steady  
himself for the ride, Ranma Saotome, known to some as Ranko  
Sakada, to thousands others he was the Juraian Knight. They had  
accepted him as their hero, and thus, he had a job to do.

He let the traffic carry him into downtown Okayama. 

--------- 

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

The author would like to thank both Corwin and Iron Dragoon,  
and to a lesser extent Kwok, for prereading this fic and making it a  
hell of a lot better than it was before. Thanks guys!

"When the Gods wish to punish us, they answer our  
prayers." - Oscar Wilde

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

Note: Here we go again. . . V 2.0, went in and corrected a lot  
of ugly mistakes. Hopefully this reads better.

---------

Prologue - The Stage Is Set

Ranma Saotome was the typical high school student.  
Multiple fiancees. Incredible martial arts prowess. Rivals out  
for his blood. The ability to leap from the roof of one building to  
another. Yup, just the typical high school student.

What brought about Ranma Saotome's ruin?  
Most would think it was one of his errant rivals, bent on  
destroying him. Some would think it would be a jealous  
fiancees fault, her anger erupting at Ranma's lack of  
attention.

Unfortunately for Ranma, a single act of his own doing,  
something that he believed to be the right thing, would cause him  
more pain than any rival or fiancee had ever caused him before.

---------

Carrying a bag of groceries home for Kasumi, the  
main protagonist of this story wasn't in the best of moods.

"Man, Akane better have cooled down by now. Who  
cares if I said a gorilla's butt was better looking than hers!"  
He blushed as he remembered being caught staring  
momentarily at Akane's posterior. "Feh, stupid tomboy."

Kasumi had sent him out to pick up some things for  
her, giving him a reason to avoid Akane's wrath and let her  
calm down. Sighing to himself, he thanked Kasumi in his  
head for saving him from an eventual beat down.

Swinging the bag of groceries at his side, Ranma  
whistled a few random tunes, as if making up his own song.  
He stopped in the middle of a high note and blinked, looking  
around, eyes narrowed.

The sound of a small scuffle had caught his ears. His  
ears could recognize a fight too easily.

Taking off in a sprint, Ranma came upon the scene of  
fighting and took it all in. Five men in strange uniforms, maybe an  
organized crime syndicate of some sort, seemed to be assaulting  
three other men.

But who to help? Ranma growled in his throat at the  
scene but wasn't sure who was attacking who. He assumed it was  
the five men in uniforms because they outnumbered the others.  
No group of thugs, especially organized, would attack a group  
larger than theirs.

'So that would mean the men in the uniforms are the  
muggers, right?' Ranma thought to himself. 'But what type of thug  
wears a uniform?' he reasoned.

"What's going on here?" Ranma yelled, hoping for some clarity.

The answer to who he should help and who he should  
beat down was answered when one of the men in uniform pulled  
out a gun shaped object, and started to turn towards him. Anyone  
carrying a gun was bad news.

In the blink of an eye, Ranma was on the gun wielder. He  
landed in front of the man, grabbing his hand and slamming it into  
the ground. The gun smashed on impact, as well as the mans  
hand.

As the man screamed, clutching his broken hand, Ranma  
turned and faced another man, who was yelling for him to stop.  
The man started to draw his own gun but Ranma swatted his hand aside.  
The gun went off, emitting a strange red beam which scorched the  
cement ground.

'What the hell was that?,' Ranma thought frantically as he  
punched the man across the face. 'I've never heard of a gun that fires  
lasers before!'

The man dropped to his knees and covered his nose.  
Ranma swiftly dodged around a staff, the end of which crackled  
with electricity.

Ranma had no doubt in his mind that the men in uniforms  
were the criminals now. 'What kinda weapons are these! It's like  
they're from the future or something,' he thought, as he ducked  
under a swing of the staff.

Grabbing the weapon, Ranma pulled it from the mans hands.  
He twirled it, pointing the electric end at the man and jammed it into  
his chest. The man quickly dropped to his knees, then side, and  
clutched at his burnt chest.

Whirling the staff around, Ranma brought it down on the  
fourth uniformed mans hand. The man dropped his gun, and pulled  
his hand toward his body, cradling it for a second.

At the same time, the fifth uniformed man was grappling  
with one of the three people Ranma was trying to protect.  
Fortunately for Ranma, the man fighting on his side was massive in  
size and could apparently hold his own.

Spinning the staff, Ranma smacked the side of the fourth  
man's knee. He brought the staff up and hit the man across the side  
of his face. The fourth man twisted around, and Ranma jammed the  
electric end into his back. The man slammed face first into a nearby  
wall, knocking him unconscious.

Turning, Ranma flinched as a red beam stuck the staff,  
breaking it in two. Cursing angrily under his breath, he raised his hands  
in surrender as the last man pointed his gun at him. Ranma looked at  
the three men he had been defending, noting they had their hands up  
as well.

"Alright, what do you want? You want our money or something?"  
Ranma asked.

The man jabbed his gun toward Ranma. "What the hell do you  
think you're doing!" The man yelled, gesturing toward the three men with  
his gun for a brief second, but not long enough for Ranma to make a  
move. "Leave now and stop interferring in matters that aren't your own!"

"Not when you're attacking these men!" Ranma retorted.

"You don't understand what's happ-"

Ranma sensed one of the three men he'd been trying to protect  
start to move.

The fifth uniformed man turned his aim toward them and the  
largest of the three jumped at him. The he grabbed the uniformed  
mans wrist, lifting his arm upward, a shot of red flying skyward.

Ranma struck. His foot lashed out in a quick snap kick,  
hitting the the last uniformed mans wrist. The gun flew out of the mans  
hand a moment before Ranma's other foot slammed into his jaw.  
The man fell onto his back, out cold.

"You guys ok?" Ranma asked, turning to the men. "You  
know what's up with these guys? Where they're from, or what's  
up with these guns?" He punctuated his hatred of guns by stepping  
on one of the discarded guns, crushing it.

"We're not so sure ourselves who these men are, but thank  
you very much," the man of average height said with a bow. "My  
comrades and I are scientists on our way to a nearby convention to  
display our newest invention. I believe these men were trying to  
steal it from us." The man patted a metal suitcase.

"Eh, it was no problem. I'm just glad I could help," Ranma  
said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial  
Arts," he announced proudly.

"Musou Kibagabi." They shook hands. "These are my  
partners, Kahji Maeda," Musou indicated toward the short portly  
man, "and this is our bodyguard Takenda Shido," he concluded,  
pointing at the massive man behind him.

"Yeah, apparently," Ranma said eyeing Takenda with a  
little more caution.

They both bowed to Ranma. "Pleased to meet you."

"Because you saved us, the only way I can think of  
repaying you is to name our invention after you. Does that sound  
like a good reward?" Musou asked while holding the metal  
suitcase against his chest.

"Uh. . . you don't have to do that," Ranma said slowly.

"I insist!"

"Err. . . name it Akane instead! Yeah!" Ranma exclaimed  
with a grin.

"Uh. . . ok. . . if you want," Musou said and smiled.

"You guys should tie these guys up or something. Call  
the police too, cause I gotta get going! I'm running way late!  
See ya!" With a simple wave, Ranma leapt to the roof of one of the  
buildings he was between and took off running toward the Tendo  
household. 'Man, Akane can't be mad at me after I tell her I got  
something named after her!' he thought as he roof jumped.

Back in the alley, Musou stared at where Ranma had  
disappeared over the roof. "Ranma Saotome," he stated coldly.  
"It's nice to have finally met you."

"That was him?" Takenda asked. "He's the one?"

"Yes. We'll be seeing him again very soon."

Musou reached down and picked up one of the fallen  
guns. He looked at it briefly and pointed it at one of the conscious,  
yet defeated men. Meeting Takenda's eyes, he silently pulled the  
trigger.

---------

Next Time: Chapter 1 - A Cruel Thanks  
Muso, Takenda and Kahji make a visit to the Tendo household.

A/N: Once more into the breach! All comments, flames, what not  
please send to and if you're going to  
flame me, at least write a review that isn't just insulting, but gives  
critical information on what's wrong with the fic.

Ok, just reworked this, noticed a lot of ugly writing in it, but that's what  
I get for writing it some 3 years ago when I was still rather new to writing.  
The chapter still isn't the prettiest, but it's definitely better. (2007) 


	2. Chapter 1: The Cruel Thanks

One Week Later:

Three men stopped in front of the Tendo front gate, the  
smallest holding a metal suitcase.

"This is the place?" the largest muttered. "What a dump.  
Looks like it's about to collapse."

"Yup, this is the place."

"Well then . . . lets try out the 'Akane', shall we?" the one  
of medium stature stated while opening the front gate, the other  
two following close behind him.

---------

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

The author would like to thank both Corwin and Iron Dragoon, and to  
a lesser extent Kwok, for prereading this fic and making it a hell  
of a lot better than it was before. Thanks guys!

V 2.0: Fixed a lot of crappy writing and it hopefully reads a lot better.  
Added a whole lot of other stuff.

"At times the world can seem like an unfriendly and  
sinister place, but believe us when we say that there is much more  
good in it than bad... and what might seem like a series of  
unfortunate events might, in fact, be the first steps of a journey."  
- Lemon Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

---------

Chapter 1 - The Cruel Thanks

"Raaanmaaaaa!" There was a loud 'thud' from the  
upstairs before Akane came storming down and took a seat on  
the living room couch. She crossed her arms in a huff.

Nabiki was out for the night, Kasumi was cooking dinner  
and Genma and Soun were cheating at Shogi. Ranma was freshly  
pounded into his bedroom floor.

Soun raised his head as the doorbell rang and Genma  
swiftly rearranged the Shogi board pieces. When he looked down  
at the board, he slapped his forehead, realizing that he had cheated  
in Soun's favor.

"Kasumi, can you get that please?" Soun asked before  
glancing down at the shogi board. He grinned. "I've got you now,  
Saotome!"

Genma frowned at the board as Kasumi opened the door.

The man at the door bowed, asking, "Is Ranma Saotome  
in?"

"Oh my, yes he is!" Kasumi bowed back to the man.  
"Please come in, is he expecting you?"

Musou shook his head, saying, "No," as he and  
Takenda entered the house, Kahji carrying a suitcase behind  
them.

"Who's at the door, Kasumi-chan?" Soun asked from  
where he sat, wondering how he had gotten such an advantage in the  
game. He didn't remember moving the pieces in such a way.

"Someone for Ranma-kun," she replied, and glanced at  
Takenda. "Are you here to challenge the dojo?"

Akane stood up and moved to get a better look at the  
visitors. "Feh, knowing Ranma this is only going to lead to a whole  
mess of problems."

"You have no idea. . ." Kahji muttered.

Akane looked at Kahji suspiciously, having overheard the  
comment. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when  
someone butted in.

"What's goin' on?" Ranma asked from the top of the  
stairs. "Hey! You're . . uh . . ."

"Musou."

"Yeah! Musou! And Kahji and Takada!" Ranma  
exclaimed as he trotted down the stairs.

"Takenda."

"Uh, yeah. What're you guys doing here? How'd you  
know I live here?" Ranma asked, shoving his hands into his  
pockets, and stopped beside Akane.

"We have our ways," Musou replied, as Kahji set down  
the suitcase.

"So, uh, what're you guys up to?" Ranma asked again.

"Who are these guys, Ranma?" Akane asked, eyeing them  
all suspiciously.

"This is Musou, Kahji and Takenda." Ranma pointed to  
each as he said their names.

Kahji knelt down and opened the suitcase.

"We've come to show you the 'Akane', which you helped to  
save," Musou explained cooly.

Everyone blinked and looked at Ranma. He had been  
telling the truth about, as he put it, 'saving some science guys and  
their invention and got it named after Akane'. Because Ranma had  
been so late in returning with the groceries, Akane had taken it  
upon herself to try and make something from scratch. The kitchen  
still had burns on the walls and still smelled like dry dog food.  
Kasumi had taken the liberty to wash the kitchen five times and  
still couldn't get rid of the smell.

"You mean you weren't making that up?" Akane gaped,  
feeling slightly put off. She had hit him when he had returned that  
night and told them his story.

"I told you I wasn't!" Ranma retorted smugly, crossing his  
arms over his chest.

"Hmm. . . is something cooking? It smells great!" Kahji  
exclaimed as he sniffed in the direction of the kitchen.

The residents of the Tendo home gave him an odd look.  
Akane grinned.

"At least someone can appreciate good cooking," she  
said.

Ranma made a face and a strangled sound, before being  
smacked upside the head by Akane, Genma and Soun.

Kahji in the mean time was hurriedly piecing together the  
invention, as if it were made of building blocks. Pieces locked into  
place, forming the 'Akane'. It was then picked up and pointed at  
Ranma.

"Is that a gun?" a couple voices asked at once.

"Yes," Musou replied as he and Takenda pulled out two  
smaller looking guns.

Genma and Soun started to move but a spray of green  
spewed from their guns. Genma and Soun both collapsed, Genma dying  
instantly and Soun left laying on the floor, bleeding to death.

"Oh my God!"

"What the hell are you doing!" Ranma screamed and started  
to step forward.

The 'Akane' remained pointed at Ranma, and he stopped.  
Akane and Kasumi dropped to their knees and crawled over to Soun.

Musou and Takenda trained their guns to the two girls.

"I'm sorry, Ranma, I really, really am," Musou said with a  
condescending smirk. "But, we needed a test subject to make sure our  
'product' works. To get our potential buyers interested, you know?"

"Why me?"

"Everyone's heard rumors about the great martial artist Ranma  
Saotome? Not only that but you managed to take down five highly  
trained Galaxy Police. Quite and impressive feat for a human."

Ranma mouthed the words, 'Galaxy Police' with a look of  
confusion and apprehension on his face. "But why? I helped you! I  
saved you!"

"And we're grateful for that, we really are," he replied with  
a smug smile. "But we're even more grateful that you've been kind enough  
to 'volunteer' like you are," Musou continued, the smile becoming  
a viciously gleeful smirk.

A low humming noise began emitting from the 'Akane',  
letting everyone know that it was powering up.

"You bastards. . ." Ranma growled, clenching his fists.

"You move . . . " Musou left the threat hanging, keeping  
his gun trained on Akane.

Soun was dead, and Kasumi was crying, cradling his  
head gently in her arms. Blood continued to pour from his lifeless  
body.

"You bastards!" Ranma spat.

"Thanks for the help, Ranma Saotome," Musou said with  
a smile.

There was a bright flash, a crackle of electricity. Ranma  
yelled out in pain as he felt his side torn open. The world was a  
blinding white and he could vaguely hear Akane and Kasumi  
shouting. He clutched blindly at his side, where the pain seared,  
and felt a rush of his blood run over his hand.

Had Ranma not been in such excruciating anguish, he  
would've found it ironic that a gun named 'Akane' had hurt him so  
badly. Instead he blacked out, hearing Akane scream one last time  
and the sound of Kahji laughing hoarsely.

---------

With a weak groan, Ranma's eyes fluttered open. They  
slammed shut as the intense light filtered through his pupils. His  
fingers were sticky, soaked in something wet and dry. 'Blood,' his  
mind told him. He licked his dry lips and winced in pain. Opening  
his eyes again, slowly this time, Ranma glanced around blearily.  
He saw only the ceiling and upper walls, feeling a cool breeze  
come from the open front door.

His father and Mr. Tendo were dead, he knew that, but he  
wasn't sure about Akane and Kasumi. 'How long have I been  
out.' How long had the three stayed in the house? Had Nabiki returned  
while they were still there? Maybe Nabiki had returned, saw everyone  
and ran out of the house.

"Akane?" he called out weakly. "Kasumi? Akane? Are  
you alright?"

Rolling his head to look to his left, Ranma's eyes met with  
Kasumi's lifeless stare. Her eyes never wavered as they looked  
into his and breath never escaped her bloody bottom lip.

He closed his eyes and swore profusely in his head, tears  
escaping from his shut eyelids. His brain began pounding loudly in  
his head and he tried not to think about looking for Akane.

"Akane? Where are you, you stupid tomboy?" He  
chuckled without humor, his eyes welling up with tears. "Akane?"

He heard someone step up to the front door and prayed it  
wasn't Musou again; prayed that it was Akane, the police, someone.

"I'm ho-oh my go-wh-wh-what-I," he heard Nabiki  
mutter senselessly. She couldn't seem to form an entire sentence,  
let alone a word.

"Nabiki?" he tried to shout, but instead it came out as a  
whisper. "Nabiki! Help me!"

There was no immediate response from Nabiki and  
Ranma was worried that she would be of no help.

"Ra-Ranma?"

His eyes opened again and he tried to find Nabiki.  
"Akane? Is she. . .?"

Once again, Nabiki didn't respond and he took that as her  
answer. Ranma was split in two: One half wanted to just give up  
and die. The other told him to live. He had to live, for Nabiki, for  
his mom. The anger built up in him and he felt fresh blood start to  
ooze from his wound again. He was mad at Musou, Kahji, and  
Takenda. They had betrayed him and his trust, murdered his father,  
his fiancee and those he considered family.

But he was also mad at himself. He had helped them  
escape. He had helped them, and in a sense, helped them kill the  
ones he loved. He was partially to blame.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to cry.

Wanted to give up and die.

He wanted to find Musou, Kahji, Takenda and kill them.

He didn't know what he wanted.

"Nabiki! God damnit, snap outta it!" Ranma screamed  
then groaned in pain, hand pressing against his open wound.

"But, I just-" Nabiki stuttered before Ranma cut in.

"Call Dr. Tofu! Call him now! The police! Call!"

He heard Nabiki push herself to her feet. "Tofu. Police," she  
muttered, "I'm gonna call. . ."

Ranma's head slumped and he exhaled deeply. Numbly he  
felt the blood pouring out from his side and his eyes stared blankly  
at the ceiling. A lone tear escaped from the corner of his eye and rolled  
down the side of his face. He could hear Nabiki crying into the phone  
receiver.

Tired, the injured teen closed his eyes.

---------

Ranma grinned as Akane smiled at him. It had been a  
good day so far. Akane had cooked them a delicious breakfast  
and then the two had gone on a morning jog. The sun, newly risen,  
greeted them warmly as they jogged to the park. They had sat  
down and watched as moms and dads brought their children to  
run around. The two glanced at one another through the corners of  
their eyes and blushed.

Snaking his hand out, Ranma grabbed Akane's and gave it  
a squeeze. He turned to look at her again and blinked in confusion  
as Akane's body began crumpling, turning into dust. He screamed  
and grabbed at Akane's falling pieces.

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace causing  
her body to explode into ash which was swiftly blown away by a soft breeze.  
Ranma opened his hands and watched as the dust in them was swept  
away by the wind.

"Your fault . . ." Akane's voice whispered and he  
screamed again, and grabbed for his side but was stopped.  
Strong hands grasped his wrists and pinned them down. He kicked  
his legs to try and free himself.

"Don't move! Don't touch it! I just finished sewing it shut and  
patching it!"

"Dr. Tofu?" Ranma muttered tiredly, halting his struggle.

"Yes, it's me, Ranma," Dr. Tofu replied, releasing his hold  
on Ranma's wrists. "What happened here?"

"What time is it?" Ranma asked, swallowing a feeling the  
dryness in his throat.

A glass was pressed against his lips and water slid down  
his throat. He breathed a sigh of relief. Weary eyes glanced around,  
taking note of a number of cops carefully navigating through the room.  
Nabiki was sitting on the couch, face in her hands, a man in a brown  
suit sitting beside her, trying to get her to talk. Two others walked over  
to where he lay, one holding a small notebook.

"What happened here, son?" the officer with the notebook asked,  
pen already aimed at the paper.

"How long have I been asleep?" Ranma replied. "What time  
is it?"

"Son, we need you to answer these questions for us. As best  
as you can," the officer explained.

"Three guys . . . named Musou, Kahji and Takenda . . ." Ranma  
paused, trying to force himself to speak. "They. . . killed everyone . . ." he  
muttered in disbelief. "This is a dream, right?"

"Do you know their last names? Can you tell us what they looked  
like?"

"No. . . don't know their last names. . . and uh. . . uh. . . Musou is a  
little taller than me, brown hair. . . brown eyes. Kahji is. . . short and fat.  
Looks like he hasn't taken a shower. . . Takenda. . . Takenda. . . he's. . . I  
can't think right now." Ranma said, shaking his head. "Can't concentrate."

"How did this happen?"

Ranma glanced over at Nabiki. She was still the same, the officer  
rubbing her back in comfort. He turned his gaze to Dr. Tofu, who looked down  
at him in worry.

"Ranma?" the doctor asked.

"Saotome, please try to focus."

"It's not. . . believeable," Ranma mumbled. "This isn't happening."

The second cop lightly slapped Ranma's cheek. "Ranma Saotome,  
we need to you cooperate. The faster you help us find out what happened  
here, the faster we can catch these guys." He met Ranma's eyes. "So. . .  
how. . . did. . . this. . . happen?"

Ranma stared at the cop for a moment, noticing Nabiki was watching  
him now. "They. . . shot weird guns . . . something outta a scfi-anime or  
something. Green lasers."

"Green lasers. . . or something?" the notebook cop whispered to  
his partner, and Ranma heard the joking tone in his voice.

Glaring, Ranma forced himself to sit up. He grimaced, the copper  
taste of his own blood rolling over his mouth. Grabbing the glass of water, he  
downed it quickly.

"Don't rush yourself, Ranma," Dr. Tofu stated, trying to push him  
back down.

"I'm fine," Ranma replied, waving off the concern before he slammed  
down the glass in his hand and glared at the cops. "Look, they said they  
wanted to test their. . ."

Pausing, he tried to recall what exactly they had said. "'Product',"  
he spat, surprising the cops by his sudden anger.

A single eyebrow rose on the cop carrying the notebook. "So. . .  
They had scifi-anime guns . . . that shot green lasers? And they were  
testing out their 'product'?"

Ranma palmed his forehead with his free hand. "I know it's hard  
to believe-"

"Just a little bit, son."

"But that's what happened. . ." Ranma said through grit teeth,  
his anger starting to boil over. He winced as his side started to burn.

"You'll have to understand our point of view here. The four victims-"

"Four VICTIMS! They aren't VICTIMS! They're my FAMILY!"

The cop continued, ignoring Ranma's outburst. "Were killed by what  
are clearly stab wounds from a large knife, most likely something from the  
kitchen."

Ranma looked to Dr. Tofu, seeing his questioning expression, then  
to Nabiki, who stared at him blankly. "Kitchen knife. . .? Kitchen knife? It  
wasn't a kitchen knife! It was a god damn laser gun!"

The glass clutched in Ranma's hand shattered, cutting into his hand  
as he listened to the other cops in the room try to hide their laughter.

"Dr. Tofu says that your wound was made with a knife as well, Ranma,  
only it wasn't as deep as the others," the cop with the notebook stated, and  
Ranma turned to the doctor, a look of betrayal in his eyes.

Dr. Tofu shook his head, reaching down for Ranma's cut hand. "It's  
what I saw when I patched your side, Ranma-kun. Same with Akane, Genma,  
Soun and. . ." He didn'tfinished.

"Knife wounds," Ranma repeated and barked out a laugh, pulling his  
bleeding hand away from the doctor. "Knife wounds, Nabiki, you believe this?"

She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"This isn't happening. . ." He covered his face with his hands,  
inadvertently smearing blood over his face. Sniffling, he glanced around  
the room. "What time is it? I'm really tired."

"It's 10:00 PM, Ranma," Dr. Tofu replied, taking the teens hand  
again, carefully pulling the few glass shards out.

Ranma winced.

"We're going to need you to come down the the station with us,  
Ranma," the second cop stated.

"Now?"

"In a bit."

Ranma eyed Nabiki for a moment, who stared right back at him.  
"I'm telling the truth," he declared to the cops, though he kept his gaze on  
the last Tendo.

"Tendo-san, we'll need you to come with us as well."

Nabiki blinked at the officer and nodded slowly. "O-ok. . ."

Turning to Dr. Tofu, Ranma met his eyes, his own pleading.

The doctor stared back for a moment before he nodded,  
understanding the young martial artists eyes. 'I know you wouldn't  
do this,' Tofu's eyes relayed. 'I AM on your side.'

Ranma smiled weakly, his first in what felt like an eternity.

"I believe that before Ranma goes with you, I should take him  
to my clinic for proper treatment," Dr. Tofu announced.

"He seems to be doing all right now, Doctor. We'll just take him-"

"I think it might be a good idea if you allow me to take him to my  
clinic. If his wound acts up while at the station, and causes some form of  
irreparable damage, he could quite easily sue you all for negligence," Tofu  
cut in.

Ranma blinked and the two cops frowned. "Yeah, I'd do that," he  
added.

"All right, I'll escort you two to your clinic, and wait til you're  
finished checking him before bringing him in," the cop holding the  
notebook stated. "My partner will bring Tendo-san to the station now."

Tofu carefully helped Ranma to his feet, the teen nodding his  
thanks. He blinked when he found Nabiki standing right in his face.  
"Nabiki. . ."

Her brown eyes looked deep into his blue, scanning them. Jaw  
clenched, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

He looked down at the top of her head, confused beyond belief. No  
words came; he was so lost that he barely noticed when she slipped  
something into his side pocket.

She released the awkward hug, stepping back, accidently brushing  
his side, and watched as he tried desperately to hide the pain. "I'll see you  
later," Nabiki muttered.

Ranma nodded before she was lead out of the house. He inhaled  
sharply, a cutting feeling attacking his side and he covered his patched side  
with his hand. Tired eyes studied the bloody wooden floor, and he felt nauseous.  
His free hand grabbed Dr. Tofu's arm, steadying himself. Suddenly, it all felt  
like a dream again.

A big joke.

A sick joke.

He chuckled, and smiled which didn't go unnoticed. 

"Ranma?" Dr. Tofu looked at the expression, confused.

"I just. . . can't wait til I wake up," he replied, and though he was  
still smiling, tears were starting to roll down his cheeks.

---------

Ranma, Dr. Tofu, and the notebook cop, whose last name was  
Tomino, entered the small, dark clinic. Dr. Tofu quickly turned on the lights.

"When we're done here, you'll come with me Ranma, so we can  
get your statement as well as composite sketches of the three men,"  
Tomino said.

Ranma nodded, still covering his side protectively.

"Go wait in my examination room, Ranma," Dr. Tofu said,  
motioning toward the door.

"Okay," the worn teen replied and slowly limped away.

Dr. Tofu's hand stopped Officer Tomino from following. "Doctor-  
patient confidentiality, I can't let you in."

"I'd rather like to be in there, Doctor," the cop replied.

"There's no reason for you to be in there, sir," Tofu returned.  
"Unless you believe that. . . Ranma is somehow connected to all of this."

"Well, he is the main witness in this crime," Tomino said.

"But is that all that he is to you?"

"I don't know right now."

"Well until you do know," Dr. Tofu stepped away, back to his  
examination room, "I can't let you in this room."

Officer Tomino scratched his cheek, sighing. "All right, I'll be right  
out here then."

"Thank you." Dr. Tofu entered his examination room, shutting the  
door behind him.

Ranma was sitting on the exam table, holding a leather wallet in  
his hands. He didn't look away as Tofu stepped up to him.

"Wallet?"

"Nabiki slipped it into my pocket back at the house."

"Is it yours?"

"No. Not hers either. Not enough cash in it."

"Whose is it then?" Tofu whispered.

"Don't know. There's no ID. Just a few yen. Haven't gotten the chance  
to really look through it," Ranma explained.

"Lift up your shirt, Ranma, I need to look at your side."

Placing the wallet down beside him, Ranma did as he was asked,  
revealing the bloody patch on his side. He looked down at it, seeing it  
clearly for the first time. "Feels worse than it looks," he mumbled as  
Tofu slowly peeled the patch off.

Ranma stared down at his sewn side, watching morbidly as a  
little blood seeped through. "Ok. . . now it looks as bad as it feels."

"Sorry, it was a very quick, makeshift job. I had to do it fast or  
you would've lost too much blood," Dr. Tofu explained as he leaned in close  
and examined his rushed work.

"No problem, Doc. I'm alive because of you," Ranma replied with a  
small smile.

"Well, your training definitely helped," Tofu said. "I'm probably going  
to have to redo this."

The door opened and Tomino stuck his head in, looking over the two.

"This is going to take awhile, I have to restitch his wound," Dr. Tofu  
said. "Please wait outside."

The officer nodded slowly, giving Ranma a narrowed gaze before  
exiting.

"He suspects you," Tofu muttered as he began to pull out the  
stitches.

Ranma sat still, only wincing at the occasional stab of pain.  
"That's what I get for telling the truth."

"Laser guns, Ranma?"

"Is it so hard to believe? After everything that I've been through,"  
Ranma replied.

"I may find it hard to believe in laser guns, but I do know you didn't  
have any part of what happened," Dr. Tofu said.

Ranma nodded slowly. "Yeah. . ." He flinched as the young doctor  
stuck a needle into his side.

"They're going to suspect you, Ranma. Your story is too  
unbelieveable, and they found no evidence at the scene of forced entry,  
or anyone else being in the house except. . . everyone that was found there,"  
Tofu whispered.

"That's because there was no forced entry."

"What?"

"They were let in willingly. . ." Ranma mumbled, shaking his head.  
"And they won't find any knife since there was none."

"With no evidence-"

"Except for this wallet." He picked it up with his right hand, Tofu  
still stitching up his left side. "This is evidence. I don't know where Nabiki  
got it, but it must belong to one of them."

"You said there was no ID in it, and now yours and Nabiki's finger  
prints are all over it."

Ranma asked flipped open the wallet. He pulled out a hidden receipt,  
turning it over in his hand.

"That's a dry-cleaning stub," Tofu muttered, eyeing the small  
piece of paper as he handed Ranma a wet towel.

"Okayama Cleaning," Ranma read after wiping the blood from his face.  
"No name, just a date. The 15th."

"Today's the 13th," Tofu replied. He glanced at the clock on the wall.  
"Almost the 14th that is. You should show this to the cops. They can go there  
and maybe catch these guys."

Ranma held up the card, which now had a couple of his bloody finger  
prints on it. "You think they'd believe that? A card with no name, just a date as  
well as my damn finger prints."

"Nabiki must've found it when she first came home, before the cops  
or me arrived."

"Why didn't she just give it to the cops when they arrived? Now it's  
virtually useless." Ranma palmed his forehead with his right hand. "What  
am I going to do, Doc, huh? What the hell am I gonna do?"

They sat in silence, both staring at nothing, lost in their thoughts.  
Dr. Tofu turned to Ranma, looking him in the eyes. "You can run."

Ranma looked at him as if he was crazy. "Run? Are you serious?  
I can't just run!" he whispered fiercely.

"You can't stay here, Ranma. There's nothing here for you now. The  
cops aren't going to let you leave any time soon. You're the only witness and  
suspect right now. Do you even know the three mens last names?"

Ranma sighed, glancing at the door. He sniffled and shook his head.  
"No, just Musou, Kahji and Takenda."

"Ranma, run," Tofu stated. "Go to Okayama, go to this cleaning place.  
You can hide in your female form, the cops don't know about it and even if  
someone talks about it, they'd never believe it unless they saw it with their  
own eyes."

"The last thing I want to do is run away and hide as a girl. I'd rather go  
to prison that get stuck as a girl," Ranma grumbled.

"I'm not saying you have to STAY a girl, just to hide as one. Hot  
water will still change you back."

"So I go to Okayama, find this place," he held up the stub, "and  
wait for them to show up."

"Find where they're living, call the cops. Clear your name. It's  
possible," Tofu added.

'Or kill them,' Ranma thought.

"Look-" Tofu started.

The door opened and Tomino stuck his head in again.

"-you need to stop interrupting me, sir. We're almost finished in here,  
I just need to patch this up and he'll be good to go."

Ranma glanced at his side, noticing that it was fully restitched, much  
cleaner and smoother this time.

"I guess I can wait inside now?" Tomino asked.

Tofu sighed. "Officer, there's no reason now for you to wait in here.  
Please just wait outside."

Ranma slid off the table. "It's ok, Doc. Just patch me up and I'll off."

Tomino smiled. "Good, good."

Dr. Tofu turned to Ranma, confused, but nodded when he saw the look  
in Ranma's eyes. He quickly went to work in making a new bandage for Ranma's  
side, and taped it carefully over the wound.

"All right, is he good to go?" Tomino asked as Ranma pulled his shirt back  
on.

Dr. Tofu nodded, and looked to Ranma. "Yeah, you're good to go."

Ranma returned the nod, smiling. He stepped up to the Officer, who turned  
to exit the room. Ranma poked the back of his neck, and Tomino dropped like a sack.  
"I have to go and get Nabiki."

"She's at the police station. You'll never get her out of there," Tofu stated.

"I can't leave her here. She deserves to come with me. There's no telling  
what they'll make her do."

"You can't fight, Ranma," Dr. Tofu stated bluntly.

"What?"

"Your side is too damaged and sensitive right now. If you fight, even just  
a little, your stitches will break and your side will reopen." The doctor paused for  
effect. "You could die."

"I may not be able to fight, but I can still sneak around, right? I've been  
doing it for most of my life, and with the Umi-sen-ken, I'll never even be seen."

"Ok then. Go to Okayama. Find those men. Don't fight them when you  
do. It'll take at least a month until your side fully heals."

"Thanks, Doc." The weary martial artist paused. "You know that I have to  
knock you out, right?"

Tofu nodded. "I'll try to do some damage control while your gone. However  
I can."

Ranma stepped up to him, nervous. "I'm sorry about this."

"You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?" Tofu joked,  
adjusting said spectacles.

"Yeah, didn't you know I always waited for Mousse to take off his glasses  
every time we fought?" Ranma jested in return, smiling. He rubbed at his eyes, wiping  
away the growing tears. "Sorry, little tired," he lied.

"Take care, Ranma."

"Thank you, Tofu-san," the teen mumbled honestly, bowing his head. "I'll  
never forget this." He quickly poked the back of Tofu's neck, and he caught the  
doctor as he started to fall, laying him gently on the floor. A moment later, Ranma  
Saotome vanished into thin air.

---------

Nabiki sat alone, though surrounded by a dozen cops, all they did was  
ignore her, and wander through the station, going about different business. They  
had asked her a number of questions, many of which were about Ranma and  
his situation at the house. She wasn't stupid, she knew the were suspecting  
him. They just weren't flat out saying it.

She had found the wallet in the front yard, drawn to it like pure  
magnetism. It seemed like it was her lucky day, when she found no ID,  
no credit cards, just some yen inside. Hers to keep. She pocketed it, and  
entered the house, only to completely forget she'd found it until Ranma was  
telling the story of three men shooting laser guns. Though hard to fathom,  
she knew it was probably true, what with Ranma's extensive background in  
running into strange and unnatural rivals.

Except these rivals had done something that no others could or  
dare would.

And she could hear the cops laughter and disbelief and it disgusted  
her. The last Tendo glared at all the cops. They were making jokes about her  
family being dead. Laughing at their expense. Her family was dead and she  
suddenly felt her heart shattering in her chest. It was hard, fully grasping the  
concept that her family was gone. It was all very surreal, even though she had  
seen with her own eyes, and touched with her own hands, their dead bodies.

She wanted nothing more than to leave. She and Ranma had been  
separated, no telling when he'd be finally brought in, in cuffs, accused as the  
real murderer. Overhearing cops talking was useful, as Nabiki was able to  
piece together that none of the cops really believed that the three, Musou,  
Kahji, and Takenda, actually existed. Especially since Ranma came up with  
no last names.

No evidence was found, besides her finding the lone, IDless, wallet.  
There wounds were apparently made with knives, even though Ranma  
claimed otherwise. She didn't really know why she gave the wallet to  
the Saotome, but it seemed like, at the time, something she had to do.  
He was meant to have it, like it was left behind for him. Handing it over  
to the police would've done little, maybe some finger prints from the  
original owner were on it, but she had put her hands all over it, outside  
and in. The yen as well.

A wallet with no ID or credit cards, or anything other than yen in  
it was just too suspicious. Yet at the same time it could offer no help other  
than being able to use the cash inside.

She blinked, reaching into her pocket and then looked down,  
confused. In her hand was the wallet. 'I DID get this to Ranma, right?'  
Nabiki thought, eyeing the object. She flipped it open, pulling out a yen.  
On it was the word, written sloppily in pen: Outside.

Glancing around the room, she laughed quietly to herself. 'That  
sneaky idiot. . .' Nabiki stood up slowly, pocketing the wallet and she  
stretched her back. 'But how the hell am I gonna sneak out of here?'

"Is everything all right, Tendo-san?"

She jumped a bit, startled. "Yes, yes, I was just stretching."  
Shaking her head, she turned to the Officer that had scared her. "It's  
really stuffy in here, do you think I could go outside and get some air?"  
she asked, shuffling her feet.

The cop nodded. "Of course, Tendo-san. You've had a very  
rough night. Don't go far though, please. Would like me to wait outside  
with you?"

"No thank you, Officer, and of course, I'll stay close. Thank you,  
sir," Nabiki mumbled and quickly made her way through the room and out  
the front doors into the cold night. She wrapped her arms around herself as  
the sudden gust of chilling wind tossed her short hair.

A couple cops walked past, eyeing her curiously before  
entering the station.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Nabiki glanced up at the sky.  
"What am I doing out here?" And her thoughts drifted to her family, her  
ice cold heart once again breaking within its confines. She clenched her  
jaw to help force back the tears. "What am I going to do now?

"You're going to come with me."

Nabiki spun around, but saw no one. She exhaled deeply.  
"You've got some kinda balls, Saotome, sneaking into a police station"  
she muttered to the air in front of her. "You know they're suspecting  
you, I gather?"

"Yeah," Ranma replied, though still didn't show. "Dr. Tofu  
and I discussed it, he's gonna stay behind and try and take care of  
things. You and me are going to Okayama. We're gonna find the guys  
that did this."

"And what makes you think they're in Okayama?"

Ranma quietly explained the dry-cleaning stub, which  
Nabiki pulled out and looked at herself. "Nice job bloodying it up,  
Saotome."

The front doors of the station opened and a cop sauntered  
out. He glanced at Nabiki for a moment and walked by, ignoring her.

"And what makes you think I'm going to go with you?"  
Nabiki asked after the cop had disappeared around the corner. "My  
family is dead and you want me to just leave them without a proper  
burial. The cops aren't suspecting me like they are you. I have pretty  
much no reason to go to Okayama with you."

Ranma faded into view behind her, eyes tired. "Then you don't  
have to come. I'll get them myself," he replied, pulling the dry-cleaning  
stub from her hand. He immediately vanished again. "I'll see you later,  
Nab-."

"We should leave as soon as possible," the girl cut in. There  
was a moment of silence and Nabiki started to think that Ranma had  
already gone.

"You realize people will wonder where you've gone and why  
you've disappeared," Ranma stated.

"I'm not stupid, Saotome. They can think whatever the hell  
they want so long as we find the guys that did this."

"Thanks. . . for believing me."

Nabiki snorted and rolled her eyes. "You maybe a total jerk and  
brainless jock, but you're not a killer, Ranma."

"Come on then, the cops will be out here soon to bring you back  
in. We're going home first."

Pulling the yen out from the wallet, Nabiki held it up over her  
shoulder. "Just enough for bus fare, if my math is right."

The front doors opened again and the Officer who had let Nabiki  
out for air stepped out. "Tendo-san? Tendo-san?" He looked around, seeing  
no one. "They said she was just here. . ."

He blinked as he stepped on something and lifted his foot. Bending  
down, he picked up a wallet. He flipped it open, finding it empty.

--------- 

Next Time: Chapter 2 - The Fresh Start  
Ranma and Nabiki head to Okayama where at a certain shrine  
they're both given a fresh start.

A/N: If you didn't notice... I totally redid this entire chapter. Hope it's  
better this time around than last. I do like this version a bit better. Feels  
more cohesive and fulfilling.  



	3. Chapter 2: Finding The Pain

Ranma's feet rattled as he stared out of the buses window at  
the passing city outside. He and Nabiki were on their way to  
Okayama.

They had made their way back to the Tendo home in the  
dark of the night, sneaking past the caution tape and two cops left  
out front. The two moved throughout the house, avoiding the bloody  
floors as best they could, while collecting all the necessary items they  
might need later on: clothes, money, and food.

Ranma had collected his belongings faster than Nabiki  
since he had so little to begin with, and waited out by the koi pond,  
staring at it blankly. It was all he could do not to look back, into  
the room where it had happened. Their bodies were already gone.  
The house was silent except for the two cops talking softly out  
front.

Time seemed to have moved in a crawl, and Ranma soon  
found himself growing annoyed. Nabiki seemed to be taking  
forever, much longer than he had wanted to be there. The longer  
he had to be at the house, the heavier the guilt weighed on his  
shoulders.

Ranma continued to stare at the pond, even as he heard  
Nabiki walk up and stand beside him. The last living Tendo took a  
sharp intake of breath.

The slender, brown haired girl mumbled something before  
turning and entering the house again. Though Ranma couldn't  
make out the words, he knew what she was doing. When she  
returned to his side, he gave her a sidelong glance.

"Are you going to say goodbye?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. Alone," he said forcefully. "I'll meet you at the  
front gate."

Nabiki nodded, picked up her duffle bag and shuffled  
around to the front gate.

The pigtailed teenager sighed, and closed his eyes.  
Keeping them shut, he turned and walked into the house. He  
stopped short of where the he knew the blood stains were. Having  
lived in the house for nearly a year, Ranma had come to memorize  
every nook and cranny of it. He could run through the house  
blindfolded without bumping into a thing.

Ranma bowed his head toward his fallen family. "Before I  
came here I never really had a home. . . . Kasumi. . . Mr. Tendo.  
. . . Pops. . . . A-Akane. . . . sorry 'bout this."

---------

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

"God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without  
sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day,  
comfort for the tears, and light for the way."   
- Anonymous

A/N: I forgot to mention that this story takes place before Ranma meets  
his mother. Also, it's AU for Tenchi Muyo, ignoring the GXP and 3rd  
OAV series.

V 2.0 (May 26th, 2007)

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

---------

Chapter 2 - Finding The Pain

The bus hissed to a stop, causing Ranma and Nabiki to  
lurch forward in their seats. They both groaned, stretched, and  
yawned.

Ranma turned and stood. Picking his backpack up off the  
floor, he noticed Nabiki rubbing her eyes. She yawned again,  
making a small 'yeep' sound, which caused Ranma to smile briefly  
before remembering why they were in Okayama.

Nabiki, who missed the whole thing, stood, grabbing her  
small duffle bag. She made her way off the bus, followed by  
Ranma. They stepped off the bus and breathed in the fresh  
Okayama air.

Turning to Nabiki, Ranma's visage darkened. "Lets get to  
work."

---------

After looking for a hotel, Ranma and Nabiki rented a  
room. No words were spoken as Nabiki climbed into the bed and  
Ranma laid out on the floor. They were asleep within minutes.

Halfway through the night, Ranma was awakened when he  
felt his shoulder shaken. He blinked his way to semi-consciousness,  
yawned and stretched, noticing someone looming over him.

He reacted, grabbing the assailant by the neck.

"Ranma!" the person squeaked, wrapping their hands  
around his wrist, attempting to pull his hand away.

He left go of the neck as if he had been burned. "What's  
wrong?" he asked urgently, sitting up.

"I can't sleep," Nabiki muttered, rubbing her neck.

Ranma looked at the clock: 5:08 A.M.

"I need someone to . . . . just . . . . I just need to know I'm  
not alone." She tugged on his hand, indicating she wanted him to get  
into the bed.

"It's not-we shouldn't," Ranma stuttered.

"I just need to know that someone is here. Nothing else,"  
she said and tugged again.

Ranma thought for a moment, and shook his head in  
defeat. He grunted as he stood up and walked with Nabiki over to  
the bed. They climbed in and laid so they their backs were against  
one another. Nabiki slowly fell asleep while Ranma lay awake,  
feeling uncomfortable and uncertain. But even the uncomfortable  
must fall asleep at some point, and so, Ranma did.

---------

Ranma's eyes slitted open, taking in the ceiling above him.

"Unfamiliar ceiling. . ." he muttered.

It wasn't the Tendo home. His father wasn't sleeping in his  
Panda form beside him. Instead he was sleeping in a bed, and  
there was a weight across his chest.

Turning his head, he found Nabiki sleeping next to him, her  
arm draped across his chest. He froze up and looked around the  
room, waiting for Akane to barge in screaming, but she didn't.  
Minutes passed and still Akane didn't appear, the room remaining  
silent except for the steady breathing of the girl sleeping beside  
him. Ranma sighed, realizing that his tomboy wasn't going to show.

He slid out of bed, Nabiki rolling over because of it.  
Tiredly, he dragged himself to the bathroom and took a long, hot  
shower.

Nabiki's eyes inched open, and she stretched out, arching  
her back like a cat. She eyed the clock: 11:24 A.M. She sat up  
fast, pulling herself out of the bed, muttering a quick 'fuck' under  
her breath. She tumbled and fell off the bed, her legs tangled in the  
sheets.

She groaned and looked around the room for Ranma,  
remembering where she was and what had happened. She called  
out for him, getting no reply. Worry gripped her. Crawling over to  
the bathroom door, she listened. At hearing the shower running, she  
sighed in relief.

Nabiki calmed herself, steadying her breathing, and  
sat on the bed, waiting.

---------

"Excuse me! Hey, excuse me!" Ranma yelled at the man  
working behind the front desk.

"Yes?" the man asked as he approached the desk.

Ranma put the 'Okayama Cleaning' business card on the  
table. "Do you know where we can find this place?"

The man glanced at the card. "No, but I'll find it for you,"  
the man said, and turned away from the two towards the  
computer.

"I don't think you're ready for this yet. Your side hasn't  
completely healed," Nabiki muttered, hoping to reason with him. She  
had dyed her hair a strawberry blonde after her shower for whatever  
reason, Ranma wasn't sure, but admitted to himself that she looked  
good with it. "Just let me go alone today."

He sighed. "I'm not going to let you do that."

"You can't risk reopening your wound! There's no reason  
for you to come today!"

"I'll be fine," Ranma shot back, and felt his side lurch. He  
hid his discomfort from Nabiki's scanning eyes by glaring back at  
her. "I'm not letting you go anywhere without me."

"It's just a couple blocks from here," the man announced,  
having ignored their spat.

Ranma and Nabiki continued to glare at one another  
before Ranma turned to the man. "How do we get there?"

---------

"So how long are we going to watch this place?" Ranma  
asked. The two were sitting at a table outside of a restaurant  
across the street from Okayama Cleaning.

"Until we get a good scope of it," Nabiki replied.

"All we needed was to find out where this place was today," Ranma said,  
crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, but it's best to find out what type of place it is," Nabiki  
stated, mimicing Ranma's action.

"Then why doesn't one of us go in and look?"

"I will then."

"I think I should," Ranma cut in. "Or we both can."

"No, you won't know what to look for. Look, we're trying to be  
inconspicuous, both of us going in there isn't doing that. If these three guys  
are coming here to sell their 'product' or whatever they used on you, then  
this dry-cleaning business might not be just a dry-cleaning business," Nabiki  
explained.

"What are you suggesting here?" Ranma asked, eyes narrowing.  
He was getting at what she was saying.

"What type of dry-cleaning place buys a weapon?"

Ranma stared at the front door of the building across the street.  
"Yeah, a criminally owned one."

"Yakuza owned," Nabiki corrected. "That's just my guess though. If  
these three are coming here with their 'product', we don't know that. They  
may just be coming here to pick up some clothes."

Ranma crossed his arms over his chest, mimicing Nabiki. "Somehow,  
I doubt that," he muttered.

"That's why one of us should go in and take a look, and I'm the  
better choice."

"Why're you better than me for this?"

"I'll know what to look for, and I'm already in disguise," Nabiki  
replied, grinning smugly, pointing to her strawberry-blonde hair.

"That's your disguise? I can change my sex. THAT is a  
disguise," Ranma retorted. "All you did was change your hair color."

"It's better that I look different, Saotome. And for that matter, you  
SHOULD be in your girl form right now," Nabiki countered. "Go find some  
water and change while I take a look inside. Grab a newspaper as well."  
The last Tendo stood up, ignoring Ranma's indignant shout. She quickly  
made her way across the street and to the stores front door.

Looking back, she frowned at Ranma, who was still sitting  
at the table. She lifted her arm and pretended to dump a glass of  
water on herself, staring at him pointedly.

Ranma responded by sticking out his tongue and making  
a face before grumpily standing and walking into the small  
restaurant.

Nabiki shook her head, and opened the door to  
Okayama Cleaning, stepping inside. "Such a baby," she mumbled  
to herself.

"May I help you?" an older woman in casual clothing  
asked. She raised an eyebrow at Nabiki, clearly annoyed by her  
appearance. "You're not one of our registered customers, ma'am."

"How do you know that?" Nabiki replied.

"I know all of our customers very well, ma'am, so I'm  
going to have to ask you to leave." The woman smiled politely,  
or as politely as she could while acting like a bitch.

"Well, I just wanted to use your bathroom anyway," Nabiki  
said, smiling back just as cattily, and she quickly looked around the  
small front room, pretending to look for the bathroom.

"Sorry, employees only," the woman responded. "Why  
don't you use the one across the street, in the restaurant." The  
woman's cold smile grew wider. "You were just eating there, weren't  
you?"

"I tried, but the bathroom there was just disgusting," Nabiki  
lied.

"And what about the boy you were with?" the woman added.

"No one I knew. Was just some stupid boy annoying me," Nabiki  
countered. "I've been waiting for a friend of mine and he wouldn't leave me  
alone." She turned back to the older woman. "You know, you ask a lot of  
questions to someone that just wants to use the bathroom."

"And you picked a weird place to want to use the bathroom, out  
of all the stores around here."

"And because of that, I guess I'll find another place to go. Thanks  
for all your helps," Nabiki sarcastically retorted and exited. She looked  
across the street, seeing Ranma-chan holding a newspaper and glaring at  
her. In front of her stomach she motioned for Ranma-chan to go right  
and she turned in the other direction.

Five minutes later they met up a couple stores away.

"So what the hell was that about?" Ranma-chan asked. "Why'd  
we have to go in different directions?"

"The woman in the store was watching us while we were at the  
restaurant. She was smart."

"So what do you think? What'd you see in there?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Very suspicious. I'm willing to bet  
a lot that that place is actually owned by the Yakuza, and you know  
how I am with betting, Saotome. I don't bet to lose."

Ranma-chan's head fell back and she groaned. "Just great.  
This is now much more complicated than we needed it to be."

"All we need to do is come back here tomorrow, and watch  
from some place other than the restaurant. A better hiding place,"  
Nabiki replied. "And we'll just follow the three after they leave back  
to wherever they live. Simple as that."

"We'll watch from the restaurant's roof then," Ranma-chan  
decided.

There was a moment of silence. "Ranma. . . I've been  
meaning to ask you something."

"Eh? What's that?"

"These men, Musou, Kahji and Takenda. . . why did  
they come to my house? Why did they choose our house? Were  
they there because of-"

"They were friends of our dads," Ranma-chan stated, staring  
her in the eyes.

"Our dads. . ." Nabiki muttered, nodding her head slowly.

Ranma-chan turned away, and closed her eyes. "Sorry,"  
she mumbled.

"It wasn't your fault, Ranma."

"Yeah. . . not my fault." The newspaper was snatched from  
her hand.

Nabiki scanned the front page, then opened it, looking inside.  
"Nothing about your or me. We're lucky. There should be something by  
tomorrow or the next day at least. The cops might be trying to keep it  
under wraps that their prime suspect escaped from them and is on the  
loose."

"Well, that's a lucky break, I suppose."

"Or newspapers just didn't have time to report on the story  
because it happened so late. We'll check tomorrow."

---------

Ranma stumbled forward, surrounded by darkness. He  
flared his ki around him but no light appeared. The world remained  
black except for the blue hue surrounding him.

Voices began streaming in from all sides; Akane, Kasumi,  
Soun, his fathers. They were all calling for him, bidding him to find  
them. He covered his ears, but couldn't block out their voices.

He screamed, keeping his ears covered as the voices grew  
louder. His side began to throb in pain, and he took off running, his  
hands out in front of him, in what direction he didn't know or care.  
Ranma ran unheeded, as fast as he could, yelling loudly to try and  
block out the voices calling to him, his side beating, about ready to  
burst. Everything was black, even right in front of his eyes, he  
couldn't see his hands.

He tripped, over what, he didn't know. As he pushed  
himself to his hands and knees, his injury having reopened from the  
fall, he felt something cold wrap around his ankles, pulling him  
back down. It wrapped around his wrists, keeping his hands away  
from his eyes, and the voices grew louder.

Kasumi's lifeless eyes looked into his.

Nabiki's voice called out to him, and he realized they were  
Nabiki's eyes.

He cried out, and struggled against his invisible bonds, his  
side burning, spewing fresh blood across his stomach and down  
his leg.

Soft hands pushed down on his chest, forcing him to lay  
down on something comfortable, and soft. The bed, he realized,  
and his eyes snapped open, the darkness around him fading,  
light streaming in like a surging army. He observed Nabiki  
hovering over him, a worried expression on her face. One of her  
hands moved and pressed on his forehead, feeling his temperature.  
Ranma breathed deeply, trying to catch some air.

He swallowed heavily. "You have smooth hands," he  
muttered.

Nabiki didn't blink or blush, but took the compliment in  
stride. "It's because I don't break cinder blocks with them," she  
remarked.

Ranma grinned, though his tone turned serious. "I'm glad  
you're here. I don't think I could've done this alone." And then he  
was asleep again. He would awake the next day, unsure if the  
conversation had been all a dream.

---------

Katsuhito Masaki, runner of the Masaki Shrine in  
Okayama, was sweeping away leaves in the early morning, as he  
seemed to do every morning. He yawned, and covered his mouth,  
shutting his eyes.

When he opened them, Tsunami, the Juraian Goddess of  
Life and Order, stood before him.

He jumped back a little.

"We have a problem," she stated in all seriousness.

The two moved to Katsuhito's office and took seats  
across from one another.

"Sasami is . . .?"

"Sleeping, yes," Tsunami replied. "Yosho . . ."

"What's the problem, your holiness?"

"With Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka having left for college,  
Sasami only has you and Washu to protect her. I do not believe  
that is enough," the Goddess explained. "My powers have not fully  
developed in Sasami, thus she can not yet protect herself."

"What would you suggest we do then?" Yosho asked.

"While Tenchi is my chosen Champion, he is not here to  
be my protector as well. I intend to find someone to be Sasami's  
guardian while he is away, but if I do, you'll have to take them in,  
feed them, house them."

"Do you already have someone in mind?"

"Not yet, but I will, and you'll know when." And with that,  
Tsunami vanished.

Picking up his broom, Katsuhito returned to his sweeping  
as if nothing had happened.

---------

The next day followed as the first. Ranma and Nabiki  
sat on the roof of the restaurant across the street from Okayama  
Cleaning this time though. The more they watched, the more they  
came to believe that it was Yakuza run. A few men in fine tailored suits  
and sunglasses would enter and exit with no laundry to show for it.

Beside them lay the morning newspaper, the headline: "August  
15th. Murder In Nerima. Key Witness Gone Missing." The following  
articles went on to describe the deceased and how Ranma was the  
prime suspect and had gone missing as well as the last Tendo daughter,  
Nabiki.

"Well, it's started," Nabiki had stated after reading through it.  
"They're looking for you for further questioning. They're not coming out  
and saying that you're the murderer, it would spread panic if they  
announced you were the killer and out free. They are saying that you're  
a possible suspect because of your disappearance."

"A good excuse for them to use since they already were  
suspecting me," Ranma muttered. He had stayed in his male form  
that day, stating that since they were hiding on the roof, being  
female wouldn't matter. "Did they say anything about you?"

"Yeah, little bit about me going missing, but no theories  
as to why yet. We knew this was a risk when we chose this."

"Yeah."

They sat silently after that, content to just watch the  
store front of Okayama Cleaning.

"I'm about ready to quit for tonight," Nabiki muttered, the  
sun having set a couple hours before, the night air now chilling her.  
She yawned, yeeping cutely again.

Ranma shook his head. "We can't. This is the night they're  
supposed to show. If we leave and they come, then all this will be  
for nothing."

"Wait, here's someone," Nabiki suddenly stated.

"What's he look like?" Ranma asked, turning to look.

"Short, stocky. Fat." 

"That's Kahji," Ranma muttered, rising to a stand.  
"See anyone else with him?"

"No, he's alone. How's your side?" Nabiki asked.

"It's fine," Ranma lied. "Don't worry about it. Just keep  
your eyes open for the fat mans exit."

They watched for over an hour before the fat man, who  
was indeed Kahji, pushed open the front door and stepped into  
the night air.

"It's show time," Ranma growled as he leapt off the roof  
and after his prey.

Nabiki called after him, but he was already long gone.

---------

Tsunami, eyes closed, and from inside Sasami's  
subconscious, continued her search throughout Japan from a suitable  
guardian. In the day that had passed the Goddess had found few  
she would consider for the role. One had intrigued her though, a  
teenager named Ranma Saotome.

Using what little powers she had reacquired, Tsunami had  
searched his memories, learned his past, his curse, and all his other  
troubles. Though strong, and an amazing fighter, he was brass and  
arrogant. He had been rude to his deceased fiancee which led  
Tsunami to believe he could possibly be rude to Sasami; but he  
had protected Akane and his friend with such fierceness that he  
would have died for them. He would likely do the same for Sasami  
after a short time of knowing her.

The biggest problem would be taming the wild horses  
crass, chaotic nature.

She would send him a vision, to lead him to her. But first,  
she needed him to fall asleep.

---------

Kahji muttered to himself as he walked down the darkened  
streets. Occasional street lights proved brief moments of better all  
around vision.

A street light a little ways ahead of him flickered weakly,  
and again when he stepped under it. He grumbled at the lack of light,  
then blinked as the other street lights around him began to go out.  
He was left surrounded by the night, the street light above him still  
flickering weakly.

"What the hell. . ."

"Did you think I wouldn't look for you, Kahji?"

"What? Who's there?" The short man spun around,  
looking about for the speaker.

"You thought I wouldn't find you, didn't you? Or maybe  
you just thought I was dead!"

Kahji tripped over his feet, falling onto his back as a figure  
dropped down from the street light above him. Ranma landed  
heavily in front of the fallen man, towering over him, a dark look in  
his eyes.

"Y-you-you are dead! You can't be alive!" Kahji  
screamed, crawling backwards on the ground to try and get away  
from the angry teen. A lone rock found itself under the palm of his  
hand and he grabbed it.

"What's the saying? Don't wound what you can't kill?" Ranma's  
eyes were crazed, staring with cold hatred. He was breathing heavily,  
clearly excited by his catch.

"You're not so unkillable, boy!" Kahji screamed and threw  
the rock at Ranma catching him in the stomach, right near his patched  
up side.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Ranma back  
pedaled, allowing Kahji enough time to climb to his feet and take  
off running.

Enraged, Ranma slammed his fist into the light post, denting it.  
He jumped up, into the darkness, giving chase.

Kahji continued to run as fast as his pudgy legs could  
carry him, unsure of where he was going. He was lost, the  
confrontation with Ranma having caused him to run off in the  
wrong direction of where he had originally been going. The  
boy was faster than Musou had thought and for that the plan was  
going awry

"Come back here!" Kahji heard Ranma scream from  
behind him.

He made a sharp right, turning into what looked like an  
empty construction site from what little he could see. His feet got  
caught underneath him and he stumbled to his knees, landing on his  
chest, knocking the air out of him. Kahji flinched as he heard  
Ranma land lightly behind him.

He was lifted off the ground and into the air, face to face  
with Ranma.

"Why! Why'd you do it!" Ranma cried, his side aching,  
tears starting to sting his eyes. "Why'd you kill them! I helped you  
and you repay me by killing my family!" He was both pissed and  
near bursting into tears.

"Kahrack chanicrach bisirunh!" Kajhi screamed.

"What the hell did you just say!" Ranma threw Kahji to  
the ground. "Who the hell are you!"

"Brinick Turdra baldrop!" Kahji cried, leaping into  
Ranma's chest and knocking them to the ground.

Ranma's side began to burn as they rolled across the dirt  
lot. He kneed Kahji in the gut, knocking him off. Pushing  
himself to his feet, Ranma raised a hand toward Kahji, a dark  
green ball forming in his hand.

"Who are you?" Ranma growled, his side about ready to  
burst from the pressure of forming a ball of ki. "Where are Musou  
and Takenda?"

"Tak rahnick lurtrah!" Kahji screamed as the muscles in  
his body began to bulge and grow larger, his veins popping out all  
over. His fat began to expand outward even more as his eyes  
glazed over and his breath became low and heavy. 

A grotesque sound filled the air as the skin on Kahji's body  
start to tear from his body, and a stranger, more disgusting form began  
to take shape. Long nails, wide yellow eyes, and pale grey skin. The  
creature opened its snout like mouth, full of sharp teeth before howling  
loud and fierce.

Narrowed eyes scanned the creature as it roared at him,  
and Ranma sensed no demonic aura around it. "You're not a  
demon, so what the hell are you?"

The monstrous Kahji lunged at Ranma, swiping at him with  
his clawed hand.

Ranma dove to the side, and bracing himself, fired the  
green ball of ki. The ball slammed into Kahji's stomach, knocking  
the monster back. Ranma grunted as his side burst open, fresh  
blood oozing from his wound. He dropped to one knee, and  
clutched his side, crying out in pain.

Kahji lumbered over to where Ranma knelt and picked  
him up by his head. The monstrous form growled low in its throat,  
speaking as much as he could within his heavy breathing. "You. . .  
want. . . to know . . . what. . . I am. . .?"

Blood began to seep out from Ranma's nose. "I'm going  
to send you. . . back to hell."

The beast-Kahji laughed, a harsh, scratchy noise in  
Ranma's ears, causing shivers to go up his spine. "You think. . .  
I'm a. . . demon. . .? Try. . . elsewhere. . ." He turned his  
grotesque head upward, to gaze up at the stars. "Up there. . ."

Ranma was tossed unceremoniously aside where he  
slammed into the ground like a rag doll. He clutched at the dirt  
under his hands and attempted to stand up but was slammed  
into the ground when a large foot stepped on his back. The  
heel of Kahji's alien foot ground into his side, causing his wound  
to reopen completely.

The foot left his back, and Ranma could hear Kahji sniffing  
the air. "You're bleeding. . . quite. . . a lot.. . Apparently. . . you  
didn't. . . go. . . completely. . . unharmed. . . by our. . . gun. . ."  
Kahji's turned away from him, and started walking away. He  
sucked in a large amount of air, rumbling out in one breath, "Bleed  
and die slowly, alone, Ranma Saotome."

Then Kahji was gone, grabbing his discarded skin, and  
vanishing into the night, leaving Ranma to die once again. Breathing  
weakly, his eyes slowly closed and the world around him went  
dark.

He started falling through the darkness, or swimming, he  
wasn't sure, but there was no solid ground beneath him. Once  
again, Ranma couldn't see his hands in front of his face.

Ranma called out for help, but couldn't hear himself.  
Concentrating, Ranma attempted to form a ball of ki in his hands  
but found the darkness overwhelmed it quickly. He began to  
panic, fearing he was trapped in eternal darkness.

He tried calling out again, but no noise escaped from his  
lips. Arms flailing, Ranma attempted to swim through the  
darkness, but couldn't tell if he moved anywhere. He look around  
him, but only saw black.

'Am I in hell?' Ranma thought, his heart clenching in his  
chest.

He searched frantically in every direction until he noticed a  
very small white dot. Pushing and pulling himself toward it, he  
found it slowly growing bigger until Ranma could make out his  
hands in front of his face. He pushed himself harder until the light  
grew and he came upon a hole in the darkness. Shading his eyes,  
he pulled himself through with his other hand.

As he uncovered his eyes, Ranma was struck dumb by the  
most beautiful scenery he had ever seen in his life, which was saying  
a lot since he had seen nothing but scenery for ten years of is life.

"Am I in heaven?" he whispered to himself, admiring the  
stunning nature around him.

Lush green trees, crystal clear water, and a serene blue  
sky over head. This was the epitome of peace. He felt so calm and  
without worry or care, that he no longer felt afraid of not returning  
to Okayama. "Where am I?" he asked aloud, hoping for an  
answer.

The land around him shifted and he found himself standing  
in front of an old shrine. A lone old man was sweeping away the  
fallen leaves.

"Excuse me?" he called out.

The man made no response to Ranma's presense other  
than continuing his sweeping

"Katsuhito-san can not see or hear you," a sweet, melodic  
voice replied from behind him.

Ranma spun around, seeing a woman more beautiful than  
all of his fiancees had ever been. Long sky blue hair, and deep  
caring pink eyes gazed back into his. She wore a large, white  
dress, a ceremonial garb by the looks of it. Her face and smile  
were as clear and peaceful as the nature around them.

"Who're you? Where am I?"

"I am the Goddess Tsunami, and this," she made a hand  
gesture to her surroundings, "is the Masaki Shrine in Okayama."

"It's beautiful," Ranma replied, gazing down at the lake  
and the nearby house.

The scenery around them shifted again, and they stood in  
front of a massive tree, its trunk as wide as an elephant. "That's a  
big tree," Ranma muttered, looking the plant up and down.

"This is Funaho. Find her, and you will find me. I will help  
you."

Spears of darkness began slicing through the world,  
destroying it around him. Ranma turned to grab Tsunami, but she  
was already gone. A line of the spreading darkness cut through his  
side, and he cried out in pain, his eyes opening.

"Hey, kid, you ok?" a lone man asked. He was dressed in  
ratty, torn clothes and his face was covered with dirt smudges.

"Where am I?" Ranma replied weakly.

"Shingen Construction site. You need medical attention,  
you're bleeding bad," the homeless man said, pointing to the pool  
of blood by Ranma's side. "Hold on, I'm gonna go call the police."

"No, I'll be alright," Ranma muttered while painstakingly sitting  
up.

"Well at least let me help you get to where you're gonna  
go," the man offered, carefully helping Ranma up to his feet.

"I'll be fine, seriously, don't worry about it," Ranma  
mumbled as he covering his side, feeling his blood start to seep  
through his fingers.

"Come on, kid, lets gets you to where you wanna be," the  
man said, putting Ranma's free arm over his shoulder. The two slowly  
walked out of the construction site and back towards Okayama  
Cleaning at Ranma's behest.

---------

Next Time: Chapter 3 - The Tree of Jurai  
Ranma and Nabiki are left struggling to find Funaho, with things  
seemingly getting worse for by the minute.

A/N: This chapter was much longer, but I cut it in half, so chapter  
3 is already done. Constructive R&R can be sent to  
2.0 (May 26th, 2007)


	4. Chapter 3: The Tree of Jurai

  
"Oh my, God! Ranma, you idiot! Are you all right?" Nabiki  
screeched as Ranma approached with the help of the homeless  
man whose name he had learned was Hoshi.

"I've been better," he said, grinning weakly. "Thanks,  
Hoshi."

"No problem, kid," Hoshi replied and turned to Nabiki.  
"Take care of your boyfriend. Get him to a hospital, pronto. Lord  
knows I tried, but the kid is damn stubborn. Kept insisting I bring  
him here. I tried, and I tried, and I tried to convince him, but the  
young man just wouldn't listen. Young people these days, just  
don't listen to their elders like they should. Hopefully he'll listen to  
you, and you'll get him to a hospital."

Ranma and Nabiki stared at Hoshi for a minute before  
glancing at each other. "I'll be sure to," Nabiki said, as she took  
Ranma's arm and put it over his shoulder.

"You two kids be careful out here, it's pretty dangerous at  
night. I should know, I'm out here every night. Lots of crime  
lately," Hoshi muttered darkly. "Plus I heard some weird animal  
roar a bit ago."

"Yeah, I think I heard it too," Ranma muttered. "Thanks  
for the help Hoshi, we'll be careful." he added before he and  
Nabiki walked off.

"Be careful, you hear!" Hoshi yelled after them.

"God, Ranma! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"  
Nabiki asked angrily as she supported his weight. "We were  
supposed to follow Kahji back to where he lives, and you  
chasing him like that doesn't help us at all!"

"I was trying to find where Musou and Takenda are!" Ranma  
shot back, and then shook his head in frustration. "Kahji caught  
me off guard. He's not human."

"If he's not human, what is he?" Nabiki demanded.

"He was a monster underneath his skin. Not a demon  
though. He. . .said he wasn't one. . . but was. . ."

"Was what?"

Ranma looked up at the star filled night.

Nabiki looked up as well. "An alien? Like, outer space  
alien? Is that what you're suggesting?" she asked, incredulously

"Yeah, it'd make sense, wouldn't it? The weird guns they  
used. Demons and monsters don't typically use guns. I know this  
for a fact," Ranma reasoned. "Doesn't that make sense?"

"An alien? Come on, Ranma. . ." Nabiki started.

"Why's it so hard to believe? He said he wasn't a demon!  
With all the weird stuff that's happened in my life, is it so hard to  
believe? It makes perfect sense to me!" Ranma retorted angrily,  
and clutched his side in pain.

"Damnit, Ranma! Are you trying to kill yourself?" Nabiki  
screamed as she felt Ranma's weight start to increase on her  
shoulders. "Come on, we have to get you to a hospital. This is  
over. Now that Kahji's gotten away, we have no leads."

"No," Ranma firmly stated, "No hospital. The cops. . . this  
isn't over. I know of another place. . . I think. We're going to find  
them."

"You think? You're going to BLEED to death, Ranma!"  
Nabiki argued.

"I'll be fine. I can handle this. It's nothin'," Ranma  
muttered, "There's a shrine, Masaki Shrine. We have to go there."

"Ranma-"

"Nabiki! Just do what I'm telling you! For ONCE!"  
Ranma screamed.

Nabiki sighed. "Alright, Ranma. . . which way do we go?"

". . . uh. . ."

---------

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

"The miserable have no other medicine  
But only hope."  
Shakespeare, Measure for Measure. Act iii, sc. 1, 1.2

AN: This ignores GXP and the 3rd OAV of Tenchi Muyo

V 2.0 (May 26th, 2007)

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

---------

Chapter 3 - The Tree of Jurai

"Wonderful news!" Musou exclaimed, putting his arm  
around Kahji's shoulders. The alien had returned to their shared  
apartment back in his original form. He had just finished explaining  
what had occurred. "I was afraid he wouldn't figure out we'd come  
here."

"Yes, yes, he found me, it was him, for sure," Kahji  
muttered nervously, wringing his hands together.

"He found us sooner than expected," Takenda said.  
"Where did he find you, Kahji?"

"After I left Okayama Cleaning," Kahji replied.

"He found your wallet no doubt." Musou grinned. "Just as  
we planned."

"Unfortunately, he might end up getting involved in our  
business," Takenda said, frowning.

"If he does, that means nothing in the long run," Musou replied.

"Um. . . about that. . . he uh. . . might not. . ." Kahji muttered.

"Might. . . not. . . what, Kahji?" Musou asked, narrowing  
his eyes.

"I sort of. . . left him there. . . dying. . .?"

Musou's hand wrapped around Kahji's fat neck, and  
easily lifted him off the floor. "We NEED him ALIVE!" he  
screamed, spittle hitting Kahji's face. "I didn't go. . . through all  
the trouble, of setting up those Galaxy Police officers, and  
KILLING his family, just to have YOU kill him before he can  
serve his PURPOSE!"

"I'-I'm sorry, Musou. . . It was an accident!" Kahji  
muttered, his voice weak from Musou's hand being wrapped  
around his neck. He was thrown to the ground unceremoniously,  
and he coughed, attempting to breath. "You. . . you kno-know I  
know about the plan, I just . . he caught me by surprise. He was-  
was so fast, stronger than he should've been!"

Musou calmed visibly. "You're right, Kahji," he stated and  
put his arm over his friends shoulder again. "It was an accident."

There was a sickening crack, and snap before Kahji's  
body slumped to the floor, head twisted nearly around.

"The last accident you'll ever make."

"I'd say the last accident he ever made was coming back  
here," Takenda said. "What should we do about the Saotome  
kid? If Kahji hurt him, it's likely he won't survive the damage."

"We have to hope that he's survives so that we can finish  
our plans. If he doesn't, we'll have to find another. I haven't come  
this far to start all over again."

"What should be done with Kahji?" Takenda asked,  
looking down at Kahji's body with disdain.

"I have an idea. . . and if Ranma survives, it might just help  
further our plans."

---------

The two teens trudged on into the darkening night. Ranma  
became dead weight on Nabiki's shoulders, slowing her down.

"Ranma, stay awake," Nabiki urged.

"I'm tired, Nabiki. I gotta sleep," Ranma replied, as he  
covered his side.

"You can't go to sleep yet, Ranma. You may not wake up  
if you do," Nabiki explained, worry laced in her voice.

"I need to, Nabiki," Ranma muttered, and fell forward  
onto a bench, pinning Nabiki under him.

Nabiki grunted as she hit the wooden bench, a sharp shot  
of pain through her back, making her wince. She tried to move  
Ranma, push him aside, but he wouldn't budge. She shook him,  
and called out to him but received no response.

The world around him faded into darkness. Nabiki's  
presence slowly vanished into the black and soon he could hear  
nothing. His body floated through the dark surroundings.

Then it all shattered like glass, and rays of light shot  
through. The world turned brilliantly white for an instant, and  
Ranma hit the ground hard uncharacteristically.

"Ranma."

He looked up and saw Tsunami standing over him. "I. . ."

"You have to keep going, Ranma. You can't stop now,"  
Tsunami explain with urgency. "You're still needed!"

"I'm so tired though, and I don't know where to go! I  
don't know where the shrine is!" Ranma complained. "Just let me  
sleep!"

"Let me show you how to get there."

The world spun around him. He sat up, eyes wide, causing  
Nabiki to fall off the bench.

"Damnit, Ranma! Don't do that!" She would never admit  
it, but she had been scared of him dying, leaving her alone.

"I know the way. I know how to get to the shrine."

---------

Ranma's right foot dragged behind him, of no use  
anymore. Nabiki slowly pulled him along as he bobbled  
awkwardly on his other leg, eyes wide and blood shot.

Ranma muttered something unintelligibly.

"What, Ranma?"

"Are we there yet?" he asked louder and clearer.

"We're almost there, Ranma, just a little bit longer,"  
Nabiki replied. It was after 5 A.M. now, and the sun was doing its  
daily ascent. "Is that the tree, Ranma? Is that it?"

Ranma stared blearily ahead of them at the blurred form  
of a massive tree surrounded by water. He nodded his head.

"The we're almost there," Nabiki said while they dragged  
themselves across the emerald green grass.

Fresh blood from Ranma's wound ran down his side, onto  
the grass, staining it red. He breathed heavily through his nose, and  
swallowed the bile forming in his mouth.

Ranma-chan grimaced as she felt cold water rush up her  
legs. They stumbled through the water and onto the grass around  
the massive tree. She staggered into the trunk and leaned her body against  
it.

Nabiki looked Ranma-chan over with concerned eyes. "Is  
this it? This is-"

"Yes! This is it," Ranma-chan said and coughed. "There. . .  
there's a house nearby, and a shrine. Somewhere in that  
direction," she explained and pointed in the direction of the house.  
"Find it, get food for yourself."

"But-"

"JUST GO!" Ranma-chan shouted. "I'll be fine." She laid  
her back against the tree and watched as Nabiki hurried away,  
sparing a quick glance back at her.

Ranma-chan breathed deeply. "Ok, Tsunami, I'm here,"  
she said, and fell into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in days.

---------

"The one I have chosen has arrived."

Yosho sipped his tea calmly. "Where is he?"

"She is down at Funaho, waiting for me," Tsunami  
explained, pacing back and forth. "Her friend is also here and at  
the Masaki house. I expect you to treat them kindly and take them  
in when the time comes."

"I'll talk to Nobuyuki, but I'm sure he'll have no problem  
with more women staying with us," Yosho replied. "When can we  
expect this new guardian to join us at the house?"

"In three days I shall heal her. To remain beside Funaho for  
three days, and not leave, not give up the hope that I will heal her.  
That is her test. It will prove to me that she believes in me, and will  
thus be more willing to protect Sasami and I."

Yosho raised any eyebrow.

"Do not worry, I will not let her die while she waits. I shall  
keep close watch over her," Tsunami said, answering Yosho's unasked  
question.

"Let her die?" Yosho asked, surprised.

"She's gravely wounded. . . and because of this. She'll have  
no choice but to accept."

Yosho pushed himself to his feet. "I shall go to the house,  
then to see her, then." As he left the room, Tsunami faded away.

---------

Ranma-chan's eyes snapped open as she heard someone  
splashing through the water around the Funaho. She took note of  
Nabiki and another girl walking toward her.

"Tsunami?" she muttered to herself as she took in the  
other girls appearance. The girl looked like a mirror image of  
Tsunami, only slightly younger, and there were dots on her  
forehead instead of triangles.

"No, not Tsunami," she whispered so neither Nabiki or the  
other girl would hear.

"Ran-Ranko!" Nabiki exclaimed, sounding relieved to see  
Ranma-chan conscious, giving the redhead an 'I'm sorry' look.

Ranma-chan closed her eyes and sighed.

"Ranko, this is Sasami Jurai. She lives up with the  
Masaki's."

Ranma-chan looked up at the teenager known as Sasami.  
Her eyes traveled up the blue-haired girls body and into her eyes,  
taking note that they were the same color as Tsunami's. Ranma-  
chan tried not to blush. Sasami was an amazingly beautiful girl.

Sasami bowed, holding a tray of food. "Pleased to meet  
you, Ranko-san," she said and laid the tray down in front of  
Ranma-chan.

Ranma-chan bowed her head. "Thanks, uh, Sasami," she  
replied, "but just call me Ranm. . . Ranko. No honorifics for me."

"If that's what you want, Ranko-chan."

Ranma-chan's face was already buried in the food.  
"Wow! This is delicious!" she crowed.

Sasami blushed. "Thank you, Ranko-chan."

"You made this?" Ranma-chan asked before shoving  
some more food into her mouth.

"Yeah, she did, Ranko," Nabiki said cooly. "When I told  
her about your situation, she whipped this up in a matter of  
minutes. Or so it seemed."

Sasami nodded, blushing at the praise. "I made it specially  
to help you feel better."

Ranma-chan sighed in content. "Wow, that was great,"  
she said as she rubbed her stomach, but then winced when she  
stretched out her wounded side. She breathed deep, and looked  
at Sasami. "Is it true about this tree? That it can heal any wound?"

Sasami nodded. "If your intentions are pure hearted, and  
you pray, the tree will cure any wound or sickness. But sometimes it  
takes days, or even weeks. . ." she explained.

"Then that's how long I'll stay," Ranma stated, before she  
asked, "Can you. . . take care of Nabiki while I'm here?"

"Um. . . who's Nabiki?" Sasami asked, looking at Nabiki.

Nabiki smacked her forehead. "She's Ranko's sister. She  
died a couple years ago. CLEARLY, Ranko must be really woozy  
from her wound."

Ranma-chan looked at Nabiki utterly confused.

"You remember me, right, Ranko?" Nabiki said, looking  
right into Ranma-chan's eyes. "Asuka."

Ranma-chan shook her head, clearing it. "Uh, yeah,  
yeah, sorry, heh I'm def a little outta it," she lied, grinning weakly  
up at Sasami. "But. . . can you take care of her? Asuka that is."

"Ranko-" Nabiki started.

"Of course we can take her in. We have plenty of room at  
the house. It'd be no problem at all," Sasami said, cutting off  
Nabiki's protest.

"But-"

"No buts, Na-Asuka They're offering you a place to  
stay," Ranma-chan replied.

"But you shouldn't be out here alone! What if your wound  
reopens? What then?" Nabiki argued.

"It won't, Asuka. I'm not going to strain it by sitting here,"  
Ranma explained.

"And we can come down here and check on her at any  
time. We'll bring her food too," Sasami added. "She'll be fine, I'm  
sure of it. Funaho will take care of her."

Ranma-chan's eyes lit up when Sasami referred to the tree  
as Funaho.

Nabiki looked doubtful.

"GO! For the love of God, Asuka!" Ranma-chan  
exclaimed, exasperated.

"Alright, RANKO!" Nabiki bit out. "If that's the way you  
want it, but don't expect me to come down here every day to  
check on you, you stubborn ass!" With that, she turned and  
stormed away.

"I'll take care of her, Ranko-chan," Sasami said, as she  
picked up the empty tray and walked away.

---------

Yosho crept quietly toward Funaho, making no noise to  
give away his presence. He stood on the bank of the creek,  
watching the sleeping girl. As he took in how beautiful she was,  
Yosho realized he would have no problem convincing Nobuyuki  
to let her stay with them. The Asuka girl was quite a looker too, and  
had already been welcomed by Nobuyuki, but this girl would be a  
snap.

"What're you lookin' at, old man?" Ranma-chan asked,  
her eyes still closed.

Yosho hid his surprise at being discovered. "How'd you  
know I was here, let alone that I'm an 'old man'?" he asked,  
examining her face as best he could to see if she were peeking.

"Only someone with a lot of skill coulda snuck up on me  
the way you just did, and that could only mean one of two things:  
You're an old man with lots of skill. . . or you're me." Ranma-chan  
grinned. "And there's only one of me, so you gotta be an old  
man," she explained while keeping her eyes closed.

"I'm impressed. How old are you?"

Ranma-chan opened her eyes and sighed. "16."

"You are a beautiful girl."

Ranma-chan made a disgruntled face. "Whaddaya want,  
jiji?"

"I just wanted to see the young girl that has come to pray  
for Tsunami."

Ranma-chan's eyes widened.

Yosho turned and started to walk away before continuing.  
"Don't give up hope. She'll come."

Ranma-chan leaned heavily against Funaho's trunk, her  
belief in Tsunami all the stronger.

---------

Sasami returned later that day with another tray of food.  
This time Ranma-chan ate slower, her side preventing her from  
scarfing it all down. She still enjoyed it just as much.

"So um. . . what do you like to do, Ranko-chan?" Sasami  
asked shyly.

Swallowing the bite in her mouth, Ranma-chan grimaced from  
a sudden pain in her side. "Martial arts," she replied and started  
to eat again.

"Oh, um. . . anything else?"

"Err. . . I guess cooking, I'm pretty good at that," Ranma-  
chan said before adding, "but I don't do it a lot cause it's girly!"

"But you're a girl, Ranko-chan," Sasami pointed out and  
frowned. She liked cooking, and didn't think it was very girly.

"Err. . . yeah, but I was raised as a boy by my pop,"  
Ranma-chan explained. It wasn't a lie; not really anyway.

"Why did your father do that?" Sasami asked, an appalled  
look on her face.

"Cause he wanted to train me to be the best martial artist,  
and taught me that women are weak and need protecting," Ranma-  
chan explained.

"That's horrible! Not all women are weak! I know plenty of  
strong women," Sasami exclaimed, thinking of Ryoko, Ayeka,  
Kiyone, and Washu. They were all strong in their own ways.

"Don't have to prove that to me," Ranma-chan said,  
flexing an arm. She was actually thinking of Shampoo, Ukyou,  
Akane and Cologne. 'Shrivelled old bat', she added as an after  
thought and smiled before her mind focused on Akane. Her mood  
darkened and the temperature of her body dropped.

Sasami felt the shift in temperature and look up at the  
cloudy sky. Streaks of sun light speared through around Funaho.  
Perhaps winter was starting early even though it was only late  
August. She looked at Ranma-chan, noticing the other girl had  
retreated into herself.

Picking up the empty tray, Sasami felt that it had chilled to  
a cold. Frowning at the strange occurrence, she turned and left  
Ranma-chan to her thoughts. Had she stayed a moment longer, she  
would have seen a lone tear escape from Ranma-chan's eye, slide  
down her cheek, and freeze to a stop.

---------

"Ranma, wake up."

A hand landed on her shoulder and as she shook, she groaned  
and blinked open her eyes slowly. A blurry Nabiki was kneeling in  
front of her.

"Nabiki?" Ranma-chan asked tiredly. "Wha's goin' on?"

"Just giving you some food Sasami made for you," Nabiki  
explained. "And to ask you to come up to the house."

Ranma-chan shook her head and sat up, a blanket falling  
off of her shoulders which she hadn't realized had been on her.  
Her stomach growled and she reached for some of the food.

"You fell asleep after eating lunch yesterday," Nabiki  
explained.

Ranma-chan grunted around the food in her mouth.

"You made big news this morning too."

"Nnn?" Ranma-chan replied.

"They found Kahji dead."

Ranma-chan swallowed. "What? Well. . . but, I didn't kill  
him. . . who would have? They'll do that body cutting thing and  
find out he's not human, right?"

"An autopsy? Yeah, they would do one of those typically.  
. . but they only found Kahji's skin. With your blood all over his  
clothes."

Nabiki tossed a newspaper onto Ranma-chan's lap. The  
short redhead looked down and saw a picture of his male side  
staring back at her, a grin donning his face, smack dab in the  
center of the front page. She read the title of the main article:

"Murderer On The Run?"

Ranma-chan looked up at Nabiki.

"It's all about you. Your past, Nerima. . . my family.  
You're the main suspect in that now."

Ranma-chan flipped through the newspaper, scanning over  
the articles about him.

"Of course," Ranma-chan said, not taking her eyes off of  
the newspaper. "Smart move by Musou. He's basically let the  
cops know I'm here and got them on my trail. Gives them more  
reason to believe I'm the murderer." 

"Well, apparently Dr. Tofu asked to do the autopsies on  
them. He came out and changed his statement, saying that they'd  
been killed by a gun of some sort, to try and possibly get the cops  
off your back," Nabiki explained, taking a seat beside Ranma-chan.

"Did that work? He told the cops it was done by a knife  
before?"

"Exactly. . . that's what's being said right now. No one's  
seen a gun that can do what that. . . gun did. They're going to have  
other doctors look at the wounds."

"And they'll find it all looks like knife wounds. At least  
Dr. Tofu tried," Ranma-chan muttered.

"Unfortunately, because your blood and finger prints were  
found on Kahji's clothes-"

"I'm 'suspected to be hiding out in Okayama'," Ranma-  
chan finished, reading the very line in the newspaper. "Well that's  
just great. The cops are gonna be looking for us around here  
now."

"For you mainly, they all think I'm dead and that you  
dumped my body somewhere," Nabiki put in.

"What about my curse? I don't see anything in here about  
my curse?"

"That's cause there's no mention of it. I'm sure someone  
blabbed about it, but I don't think the cops are likely to believe in  
a curse. They didn't exactly believe in laser guns, so I can't see  
them starting to believe in curses."

"I'm not the only person that has a curse though."

"Well, we caught a break for the time being cause Musou  
and the cops don't know that you turn into a cute little female,"  
Nabiki pinched Ranma-chan's cheek, "named Ranko."

Ranma-chan smacked away Nabiki's hand. "It's not a  
joke, Nabiki! This isn't good!"

"I know! I know, but as long as you're a girl known as  
Ranko, you'll be fine," Nabiki explained.

"I don't want to have to hide for the rest of my life!"  
Ranma-chan screamed then covered her injured side, grimacing.  
She breathed sharply. "You know I hate my curse! I'll go insane if  
I have to stay this way for a long time!"

"I know, Ranma, but for right now you have no choice.  
For now, your name is Ranko Sakada, and mine is Asuka  
Fujenko," Nabiki explained. "We've been friends for four years,  
you're a martial artist," Ranma-chan grinned, "that got beat in a  
fight."

Ranma-chan frowned, sighed and folded the newspaper  
on her lap.

"Yes, things just went from bad to worse," Nabiki  
summed up.

"What's worse is that we don't even know if Kahji is  
actually dead. Remember how I told you that he shed his skin,  
right?"

"You just said he was a monster underneath his skin, not  
that he shed it."

"Well he did. Skin tore right off his body." Ranma-chan  
sighed. "He could still be alive." She tossed the newspaper back  
to Nabiki. "What time is it?"

"Just after nine in the morning," Nabiki replied.

Ranma-chan grabbed the blanket and looked at Nabiki.

"Sasami brought it down after you fell asleep." Nabiki  
said. "She's a nice girl."

The red-head nodded and finished off her breakfast.

"So will you come up to the house now?" Nabiki asked.

"I'm not leaving," Ranma-chan stated.

"But this is pointless! You're wasting your time! While  
you're sitting here, Musou and Kahji could be getting away!"  
Nabiki argued.

"You forgot Takenda," Ranma-chan pointed out.

"What does it matter? This is stupid! My family's dead and  
you're sitting in front of a tree!" Nabiki screamed, frustrated by  
Ranma-chan's apparently laziness.

Nabiki and Ranma-chan stared at one another for what  
seemed like hours. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be. Just forget about it. No point dwelling on  
something that can't be changed," Nabiki replied blankly, avoiding  
Ranma-chan's eyes.

"I couldn't save them," Ranma-chan croaked.

"Don't. . ." Nabiki started, eyes narrowing.

Ranma-chan looked up at her, her blue eyes shimmering  
with wetness. "I screwed up, I failed. It's my fault they're dead."

"Don't!" Nabiki shouted, stomping her foot. "Don't you  
DARE blame this on yourself! What happened, happened! Nothing  
can change that! You did EVERYTHING you could, God damnit!"  
And with that, Nabiki turned and stormed away.

Ranma-chan hung her head. "I'm sorry. . . Akane. . ."

---------

Next Time: Chapter 4 - A Double Sided Deal  
Things become even bleaker for Ranma when what he wants from  
Tsunami isn't what he gets.

This chapter. . . is done. . . next chapter. . . is also done. . . will  
post it some time soon. After I take the time to read it over. Review  
or email   
I'll typically respond. Hope you enjoyed!

V 2.0 (May 26th, 2007) 


	5. Chapter 4: A Double Sided Deal

Ranma-chan awoke later, hearing soft steps heading in herdirection. Her eyes focused on the figure. "What do you want,  
jiji?" It was night now, and the stars twinkled clearly overhead.  
Crickets and frogs sounded their calls, which Ranma-chan found  
incredibly relaxing.

"You slept through lunch, and now I'm bringing you  
dinner," Yosho explained.

Ranma-chan's stomach growled. "Thanks, gramps. What  
would I do without you?" she joked.

"Go hungry," he replied blandly as he placed the tray on her  
lap. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. I am Katsuhito  
Masaki, the caretaker of the Masaki Shrine."

"Ranko Sao-Sakada."

"How's your wound?" Yosho asked, taking note of  
Ranma-chan's slight stutter.

Ranma-chan sipped her miso soup. "Doin' better, I guess.  
Don't know, still hurts to move. Hate to think what it'll feel like  
when I finally stand up," she said with a grin.

"Well," Yosho began, "when Tsunami heals your wounds,  
you and I will have to spar so I can test your abilities." He started  
walking away. "If you're good enough, perhaps I'll train you  
myself."

"If you're as good as I think you are, I'll take you up on  
that match, jiji, and I'll show you just how much better than you I  
am."

Yosho grinned to himself. 'Lots of confidence, that's  
good. She'll need it. Perhaps Tsunami was right about this one.'

---------

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

"O, what a tangled web we weave,  
When first we practice to deceive!"  
Scott, Marmion. Canto vi, st. 17.

AN: This ignores GXP and the 3rd OAV of Tenchi Muyo

V 2.0 (May 26th, 2007)

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

---------

Chapter 4 - A Double Sided Deal

Ranma-chan stirred, waking to a throbbing pain in her  
side, and she groaned loudly. The sun was just rising. She looked  
down at her side, noticing a growing red splotch on the blanket.  
Pulling it off, she found her shirt was soaked through with fresh,  
sticky blood. "Shit!"

Her breathe quickened, and she gasped aloud as she  
pressed her hand firmly against her side to try and slow the  
bleeding.

"Damnit, Tsunami!" Ranma-chan growled. "Where the hell  
are you!"

She fell on her side and grunted in pain. Her sight blurred  
and blood began to stream into the ground near Funaho's roots. A  
long streak blood marred Funaho's trunk, and as Ranma-chan lapsed  
into unconscious, Funaho unwillingly drank of the dying girls blood.

---------

Sasami smiled to herself as she walked toward Funaho. In  
her hands, she carried a tray of breakfast for Ranko. She was  
happy to have new guests staying at the Masaki house. Tenchi had  
gone to college, Ayeka and Ryoko tagging along, while Kiyone  
and Mihoshi had left for assignment shortly after. Since Tenchi was  
now a legal adult, the Galaxy Police had no jurisdiction to watch  
over him.

The house had been empty for Tenchi's freshmen year,  
except for Christmas and summer. Tenchi's second year of college  
had started just a week before, and so Tenchi, Ayeka, and  
Ryoko had left again, this time taking Ryo-Ohki with them. Sasami  
had been left with just Yosho, Nobuyuki, and Washu, who spent  
most of her time in her lab anyway.

Life at the Masaki house had become a lot more boring  
from when she had first arrived there, and the new guests, Asuka,  
and especially Ranko, seemed like they could add some greatly  
needed excitement. She really hoped that Tsunami would heal  
Ranko, and heal her fast. She had tried talking to the Goddess  
about the redhead, but had been ignored. Tsunami wasn't  
answering her calls.

As she approached the clearing around Funaho, her eyes  
widened. She noticed the blood streak on Funaho's trunk first  
before seeing Ranko's body laying motionless by its roots.

Sasami dropped the tray of food, and hurried to Ranko's  
side. She rolled the redhead on her back, and checked her  
bleeding side. There wasn't enough time to get help, Ranko would  
die from blood loss if she was left alone for another ten minutes.

Cradling Ranko's head in her lap, Sasami looked to Funaho,  
tears threatening the corner of her eyes. "Help me! Please!"

---------

Ranma-chan slowly opened her eyes, and groaned loudly.  
Above her stood Sasami, Katsuhito, and a young redheaded girl.

"What happened?" Ranma-chan asked weakly.

"Your wound reopened, and Sasami found you dying,"  
Yosho explained.

Ranma-chan sat up, ignoring the immense pain in her side.  
Yosho tried to force her to lay back down, but she brushed his  
hands away. She looked at Sasami, then around at the Funaho,  
noticing all the blood covering it and the grass around her. "Wow,  
I really bled a lot, sorry 'bout that. Um. . . who are you?"

"I'm Washu! The Greatest Scientific Mind in the  
Universe!" Washu exclaimed and cackled out a laugh.

Sasami and Yosho both sweat-dropped before noticing  
Ranma-chan had passed out again. They sighed in relief.

"Washu. . ." Yosho started.

"Sorry! Sorry! Force of habit."

"Ranko can't know that we're aliens. There's no way of  
telling how she'd react," Yosho explained.

"Is Ranko-chan going to be ok?" Sasami asked nervously.

"She should be fine, Sasami-chan. The wound though. . .  
something I've never really seen before. It wasn't made by some  
other martial artist like Asuka said, but something a lot more  
powerful.

Washu shook her head. "I think I've encountered a  
wound like this before, but I was only able to patch it up slightly.  
Ranko's wound is still in a very precarious position. Why don't  
you go up and make her something to eat, it would do her good.  
Tell Asuka that her friend is ok, so she doesn't worry."

Sasami nodded, stood up and hurried away.

"We're very lucky you have a link with Funaho," Washu  
said.

"Yes, if Funaho hadn't contacted me. . . Ranko wouldn't  
have made it."

"I'm still not sure if she will," Washu mumbled, shaking her  
head again. "That wound wasn't made by any human being. The  
wound is spreading, even after I patched it up, it's slowly eating  
away at her body. I know only of a certain alien species that can  
inflict such a wound, but they're supposedly extinct. If her wound  
isn't fully healed in two days, it'll grow too large and she'll die.  
I'm amazed she's even alive right now, it's a credit to her  
determination to live."

"What species of alien are you talking about?"

Washu tapped her chin. "I'm not too sure right now, I  
have an assumption, but I'd like to look it up first. I'll get back to  
you when I figure it out. For now though, I can't do anything else  
for her."

"Then we have no choice, but to leave her in Tsunami's  
hands," Yosho replied.

"Will Tsunami come?"

"It's not a matter of will she come, because I know she  
will. It's a matter of when. If Tsunami takes too long. . ." Yosho  
looked down at the girl sleeping on Funaho's roots.

---------

'Pain. Ow, my cheek! Ow!' Ranma-chan smacked her  
cheek, waking herself up in the process. She shook her head, and  
looked around, taking note of Nabiki standing over her.

"That got you," Nabiki muttered.

"Did you have to pinch my cheek so hard though?"  
Ranma-chan whined. "What happened?"

"Your wound reopened. Sasami found you dying, Ranma.  
DYING! You said you'd be fine out here, and I believed you, and  
you go and almost DIE! What does that tell me about you,  
Ranma?"

Ranma-chan said nothing.

"It tells me you're a liar, Ranma, that I can't trust what you  
tell me. It makes me doubt even more that this," she waved her  
hands around, emphasizing their surroundings, "will magically heal  
you."

"It will."

"How do you know that? You don't, Ranma! How can  
you have such faith in something you don't know anything about!  
Stop being so stupid!" Nabiki screamed, her eyes sheen with  
tears.

"Look, I can't promise you I won't bleed every once in  
awhile, but I can promise you that Tsunami will come."

"Who is Tsunami?" Nabiki asked, blinking away the  
wetness from her eyes.

"She's the Goddess. She's the one that'll heal me. I've  
seen her twice already, so I know she'll come for me," Ranma-  
chan explained matter-of-factly.

"If you've seen her twice, why didn't she heal you those  
times?"

Ranma-chan looked up into Nabiki's eyes. "She's testing  
me, I know she is, I know she'll come. You can argue all you  
want, Nabiki, but I'm not leaving." She crossed her arms under  
her chest, wincing as she accidently stretched her side.

Nabiki huffed, and crossed her arms as well. The two  
stared each other in the eye for a minute or two before Nabiki  
finally sat down next to the small redhead.

"Eh?" Ranma-chan eyed Nabiki suspiciously.

Nabiki leaned her back against the tree, and stared dead  
ahead, as if trying to ignore her companion. She felt Ranma-chan  
shift beside her. There was a long silence between the two.

"Thanks, Nabiki."

Nabiki bopped her gently on the head, and smiled.  
"Baka, it's Asuka now."

---------

The light of the morning sun warmed Ranma's face and he  
warily blinked himself awake. Shaking his head clear, he then  
rubbed his eyes, before quickly realizing he was a guy.

"How. . .?"

"You're dreaming, Ranma. Or should I say Ranko?"

Ranma looked up and beheld the Goddess Tsunami for  
the third time, a bemused smile on her face. He found that he  
couldn't look directly into her eyes.

"Were you starting to doubt that I would show?" Tsunami  
asked.

"Not for a second. There was something about you. . . I  
just knew you'd show," Ranma replied, hanging his head to hide  
his blush.

"I called you here for a reason, Ranma, not just to heal  
your wound," she explained. "I need your help."

"My help? But. . . what-why, I don't get it? You're a  
Goddess, what could you possibly need help with?" Ranma  
exclaimed, looking up at Tsunami surprised

"Sasami and I are one."

"That's why you two look so much alike!" Ranma cried,  
eyes going wide.

Tsunami nodded. "My being exists only inside of  
Sasami's, and if she dies, or is harmed in anyway, then I shall be  
too." The Goddess paused and let it sink in. "I need a guardian.  
Sasami needs a guardian. One that will protect us at all times, and  
I've chosen you. If you accept."

"What do you need protection from?" Ranma asked,  
confused.

"You are not the only one with enemies, Ranma  
Saotome." Ranma hung his head in embarrassment, feeling stupid  
for not realizing such an obvious fact. "There are many out there  
that would jump at the chance to kill or capture me."

"But. . . you're a GODDESS, doesn't that mean you  
have, like. . . crazy super powers? Couldn't you stop them on  
your own?"

"When Sasami is 18, she and I will become one, and all of  
my powers will be free, but for now, my abilities are hampered. If  
I do anything too powerful, Sasami's body won't be able to  
handle it and it will be destroyed."

"Jeez. . ." Ranma pushed himself to his feet, standing  
slightly shorter than the Goddess. "What. . . what would I have to  
do?"

"Protect us. All you have to do to accept is take this  
seed," Tsunami explained and held out her hand, proffering a small  
green seed. "It will heal your wound and give you renewed strength,  
which you'll use to protect us from those that wish us harm."

He looked down at the seed then back at Tsunami. "I  
don't get it. What is it that gives it the ability to give me what you  
say it'll give me?"

Tsunami blinked. "Say again?"

"The seed, what is it exactly? How will it give me 'renewed  
strength, which blah blah blah blah wish us harm?'" Ranma asked.

"This is a seed of Jurai, the Kingdom I am the Goddess of.  
My greatest servants use these seeds to protect Jurai. Typically  
they are born with their own seeds though, so for you I had to go  
to. . . shall we say, extreme measures, to get this seed."

"What do you mean? Where's Jurai? And what's so special  
about this seed?" Ranma looked doubtfully at the little object.  
"And why do you think I need it? I can handle anything perfectly as  
I am right now. Well, once you heal me anyway. I'm only the best  
martial artist around. That's why you chose me, right?" he boasted,  
grinning broadly.

Tsunami's eye twitched, feeling somewhat insulted by Ranma's  
question. "This is not just any seed of Jurai, Ranma Saotome, this is  
mine and Sasami's. Since we share the same body, we share the same  
seed. This SEED is the seed of a Goddess, the most powerful seed  
in all of Jurai."

"Whoa! Whoa! And you wanna give it to me?" Ranma waved his  
hands in protest. "I can't accept that! No way! That's way too big!"

"You have to!" Tsunami pleaded, still holding out the seed.

"No. Just no. I can't. You gotta find someone else.  
Someone better. I-I'm not good enough to protect you." Ranma shook  
his head emphatically, having suddenly lost his cocky bravado.

"You have no other choice, Ranma. It's either accept the  
seed. . . or die."

Ranma took a step back, and glared in confusion. "What?  
Are you threatening me?"

"No, your wound will kill you if you do not accept."  
Ranma started, but Tsunami cut him off, "I can't heal your wound  
as I am right now, Ranma, only this seed can."

"You said you'd heal me!" Ranma screamed, balling his  
fists. "You lied to me!"

"No, I didn't lie! I just don't have the power! I can't! And  
if you don't take this seed, your wound will kill you! You HAVE  
to take it, don't you see?" Tsunami cried, suddenly looking very  
distraught. She had hoped that Ranma would have accepted the  
seed without qualm, but she was unlucky, and now Ranma clearly  
distrusted her. This wasn't how she had wanted their relationship  
to start.

"That would be the catch then wouldn't it. . . I either  
accept and become your body guard, or die." Ranma sighed,  
suddenly drained of energy. "I'll take the seed. . . but don't expect. . .  
this. . ." he gestured between the two of them, "to be so pleasant. I  
don't like bein' used."

"Don't take any unpleasantness you have with me out on  
Sasami. She knows nothing about this," Tsunami pleaded.

"Just gimme the seed," Ranma said, reaching out to take  
the seed, which was dropped into the palm of his right hand.  
"How does this work?"

"It's already started," Tsunami whispered.

Ranma looked down at his hand, watching in horror as the  
seed slowly sunk into his palm, underneath his skin. "Wait!" he  
reached fast for the seed, but it had already disappeared beneath his  
flesh. He looked up at Tsunami, suddenly scared

"The seed will grow inside you, spread its roots like a tree,  
and while the roots grow, so will the power I spoke of," Tsunami  
explained softly, almost afraid that Ranma might turn on her.

Ranma's arm seized, and his right hand clenched into a  
fist. "It hurts. . ," he mumbled, every muscle in his arm straining,  
the veins bulging. "Why. . .?" He fell to his knees, and cradled his  
arm against his chest. Looking around, he noticed Tsunami had left  
him alone with the pain.

"Why does it hurt. . .!" he screamed, and dropped his  
head to the ground to better cradle his arm. Drool dripped from  
the corner of his mouth, but he ignored it, all his attention diverted  
to the stabbing pain. He looked over his arm, and watched as his  
bulging veins glowed green momentarily. Eyes wide, breath caught  
in his throat, Ranma Saotome passed out, never to be the fully  
human again.

---------

Ranma-chan awoke with a start, lurching forward, and  
immediately grabbed her right arm. There was no pain, anywhere,  
not in her arm, or her side. She slowly lifted her shirt and looked at  
her side. There was no blood, no wound, just perfect skin, as if it  
had never been touched.

Tentatively, she touched the spot, wincing even though it  
didn't hurt. She breathed deeply, enjoying the first inhale and  
exhale that didn't burn in over a week. Standing up, Ranma-chan  
stretched, popping the bones in her arms, knees and back. She  
flexed her muscles.

"Wow, I feel twice as strong!" she exclaimed and  
continued to flex her muscles. "This is great! Wow! Wow! Wow!"  
She was grinning like an idiot and she knew it, but really didn't  
care.

'I bet I could take down Ryouga with one arm tied behind  
my back,' she thought. 'Maybe I should give Tsunami a break. . .  
this is way better than I expected. . .'

"Ran-Ranma. . .?" Nabiki asked, rubbing the sleep from  
her eyes before looking Ranma-chan up and down thoroughly.  
She was on her feet in an instant and reaching out to touch the  
other girl, to make sure what she was seeing was real. "Are you-  
are you alright?"

Ranma-chan grinned broadly. "I'm great! Better than I've  
ever been!"

"What about your side?" Nabiki asked anxiously.

To prove she was feeling great, Ranma-chan punched  
herself where her wound had just been, and felt absolutely nothing.  
She back flipped and punched the air around her rapidly. "Never  
felt better. I bet I could take on Cologne and Happosai at the  
same time."

"Then she came. . . she really came. . . and she healed  
you. . ." To say Nabiki was dumb-struck would be an  
understatement

"Yeah, Tsunami came," Ranma-chan replied, looking  
intently at her right hand.

"How did it happen? How'd she heal you?" Nabiki asked  
eagerly. This was big, bigger than anything she'd seen before. She  
had seen a lot of things living with Ranma for the past year, but a  
Goddess actually existing and healing her friend from near death  
was something else.

"She came to me in my dreams, and gave me a seed."

"A seed?"

"It's inside me now. It healed my side."

Nabiki stopped and stared at the redhead. She knew  
Ranma was hiding something from her, and she was going to find  
out what. Something akin to realization dawned on Nabiki's face.  
"There's some sort of catch, isn't there. . .?"

Ranma-chan looked at Nabiki then at the ground. "Catch  
is we can't leave. We gotta stay here."

"Why? I don't get it."

"It's better that you don't get it. It's not bad though, right?  
We'll be staying with the Masaki's, at their house. . . I think. And we  
can keep looking for Musou and Takenda while we're here."

Ranma-chan shook her head. She couldn't tell Nabiki about  
Sasami and Tsunami sharing the same body. That was something the  
blue-haired girl had the right to tell whoever she wanted. Wasn't  
Ranma's right. "Lets go get something to eat! I'm starved!" she  
exclaimed.

"A miracle occurs and you're more concerned about  
eating," Nabiki said with a sigh. 'And what if Musou and  
Takenda decide to leave Okayama, Ranma? Then what  
would we do? Are you giving up on getting them already?'

---------

Ranma-chan and Nabiki entered the Masaki house just as  
Sasami was finishing making breakfast. One large whiff, and  
Ranma-chan was off, taking a seat at the table. "Food!" she  
cheered, her stomach growling angrily.

Nabiki grinned and sat down next to her friend moments  
before Sasami entered, carrying two trays of food. The blue-  
haired girl started at the sight of them sitting in the house. She  
stood in silence, waiting for one of them to speak, unsure of what  
to say.

Ranma-chan grinned happily. "All better!" she crowed,  
flexing her left arm to show that her side no longer hurt. "That  
Tsunami's a miracle worker, let me tell you!" She clapped her  
hands together, looking at the food. "What's for breakfast?"

Sasami smiled and laughed. "I was going to bring this  
down to the tree for you two, but now I don't have to anymore!"  
She placed the trays down in front of the two.

---------

Later that night, up on the roof, in the brisk August air,  
Ranma-chan sat. She stared at the stars, losing herself in the  
endless sky, and her thoughts.

In all her life, Ranma-chan had never felt so great  
physically, yet so terrible mentally. It was usually the other way  
around. Tsunami had definitely followed through with her end of  
the deal. Ranma-chan could easily tell that she was two times, maybe  
even three times stronger than Ryouga and at least two times faster  
than before. Her overall stamina had increased as well. She couldn't  
wait to get into a fight and find out just howmuch better she was.

But still, her mind, fill with the recent horrific memories,  
pained her worse than any wound she had ever had before. How  
was she supposed to feel now?

She had been given a second chance at life, a stronger,  
more powerful body. She was free of all her engagements, and  
problems her dad had made for her, for now, but at what cost?

The loss of her family. The loss of Akane. Why, of all the  
people, did she deserve this while the others didn't? Why did she  
continue living while the others died? It was an unfair balance,  
especially since it was her fault they were dead.

The tears started to fall again. "Akane. . . I'm sorry. . . I'm  
so sorry. . . I don't deserve this. . . You deserve to be alive more  
than I do. It's not. . . not fair!" She pounded her fist into the roof,  
cracking a shingle.

"Damnit, I'm sorry!" she shouted up at the sky in frustration,  
only to receive no reply except the silence of her own loneliness. She  
buried her head in her hands.

More tears followed.

---------

Next Time: Chapter 5 - New Students  
Ranma-chan and Nabiki are enrolled into Sasami's school. The  
search for Musou and Takenda continues.

A/N: Hopefully this chapter cleared up some questions people had.  
I'm already done with Chapter 5. Ranma is NOT stuck as Ranma-chan,  
and he will be a guy at times in this fic, he's just hiding as a girl  
for the time being.

For those of you who have stated that things aren't going to be easy for  
Ranma: Yes, they are NOT going to be easy. Ranma maybe stronger now,  
but his opponents in this story aren't going to be push overs. He's  
not going to beating them so handily, and Ranma's past will come back to  
bite him, as well as his lies and other things. As much as Ranma thinks  
he's in the clear, he isn't. I know this story has had a rough start,  
kinda slow too, but this has all been setup. I'm just starting to get  
to the action of the story.

Also, yes, Ranma is crying. Live with it, it's his fault that his  
fiancee, her family, and his dad are dead and he has to live with that  
on his shoulders.

Finally, the seed implantation idea came from the story: The Girl Who  
Wasn't and the Princess Who Was. I suggest everyone try and read it,  
it's a great Ranma/Tenchi crossover. Unfortunately, this story seems to  
have disappeared from the net. I hope you guys can find it.


	6. Chapter 5: The New Students

  
"Whaddaya mean we've been enrolled at Sasami's  
school?" Ranma-chan exclaimed in horror.

"Just that. Katsuhito-san took the liberty to get us  
enrolled," Nabiki replied.

Ranma-chan pulled Nabiki close, so their noses were  
nearly touching. "How could he do that? Our last names are  
FAKE!" Ranma-chan whispered fiercely. "Our first names are FAKE!  
How can you enroll two FAKE people?"

"I don't know how he did it or why, all I know is that it  
looks like they want us to get an education," Nabiki said. "Besides  
I like school."

"Keh, you would," Ranma-chan muttered. "I don't know  
why I gotta go to school."

"Because you need an education, young lady," Katsuhito  
explained as he entered the room.

"I don't need an education, jiji. It ain't gonna do me any  
good," Ranma-chan retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A good education is a strong foundation for your future,"  
Katsuhito intoned wisely. "Besides, you'll be in the same class  
group as Sasami. You and Sasami are both Sophmore's. That  
way you can keep an eye on her if she gets into trouble." The old  
man smiled, winked, and left the room.

"Well that was odd," Nabiki whispered. "Why would  
someone as nice as Sasami get into trouble?"

'The old man knows something,' Ranma-chan thought,  
annoyed by the revelation.

Nabiki's hand landed on Ranma-chan's shoulder. "Don't  
worry about it. You still got a week before school starts."

"Yeah, that's true I guess, but still. . . I think I'd rather  
have gone to prison. . ." the redhead muttered jokingly.

---------

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

"There is nothing on earth intended for innocent people so  
horrible as a school. To begin with, it is a prison. But it is in some  
respects more cruel than a prison. In a prison, for instance, you  
are not forced to read books written by the warders and the  
governor. . . In prison they may torture your body; but they do not  
torture your brains."  
Bernard Shaw, Parents and Children

AN: This ignores GXP and the 3rd OAV of Tenchi Muyo

V 2.0 (May 26th, 2007)

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

---------

Chapter 5 - New Students

Ranma-chan groaned as the class bell went off, signaling  
the beginning of the first day of school.

"That week went by way too fast," she muttered as she  
laid her head on her desk, preparing to take her first school nap of  
the year.

---------

"Oh God, it's horrible!" Ranma-chan wailed, flailing her  
arms about to make it seem more dramatic.

"Oh come on, Ranko-chan, it hasn't been that bad.  
Besides, you slept through it all," Sasami replied while giggling at  
Ranma-chan's antics.

Ranma-chan blushed, embarrassed, and muttered, "Gave  
me nightmares."

"Yes, well it's lunch now. I think you'll make it through the  
rest of the day," Sasami said as they walked toward an empty  
spot in the front yard.

"Ah, yes, my favorite subject: lunch," Ranma-chan stated,  
looking down at the bento Sasami had prepared. "This looks great,  
Sasami," she said before she heard someone walk up behind her.  
She looked up, noticing a tall, lanky boy had walked in front of  
her, blocking her path.

"Hey there, hot stuff. You must be new here," he said  
grinning. "My name's Genzo Ishiisumi. What's yours?"

"My name?" Ranma-chan repeated and looked for  
Sasami. "My name's none of your business." She saw Sasami  
standing a little ways away, watching her with pleading eyes.  
Ranma-chan grunted. "Get outta my wa-" she started to say while  
stepping around Genzo.

Another person stepped in front of her, blocking her again.  
"Is this guy bothering you?" he asked, pushing Genzo slightly.

Ranma-chan growled slightly. "Yeah, he was. Now if you  
don't mind, I'd like to eat my lunch."

"Oh, but I do mind. Ever since I saw you, just a couple  
minutes ago, I've minded. . . you that is. . ."

Ranma-chan felt like throwing up.

"My name is Jinnai Toyoda. I am the 18th grand nephew  
of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota. I'm sure you're  
charmed. And you are?"

"Hated by God, apparently," Ranma-chan mumbled.

She made to move past Jinnai to get to Sasami when she  
was cut off by Genzo again, who took the opportunity to put his  
arm over Ranma-chan's shoulders.

"Nunofyer-chan and I were just about to leave and have  
lunch together," Genzo stated.

"The only thing you're gonna have are your nuts kicked  
into your stomach if you don't let go of me in three seconds,"  
Ranma-chan growled. "1. . ."

"Who says she wants to go anywhere with you? I'm sure  
she'd rather spend lunch with me," Jinnai retorted.

"2. . ."

"I saw her first, Jinnai, so back off!" Genzo shot back.

"3!" Foot meets nuts, Genzo meets ground.

Jinnai barked out a laugh. "I think that's proof enough that  
she doesn't want to go with you."

Ranma's fist slammed into Jinnai's gut. "I don't want to go  
anywhere with you either," she said before stomping over to  
Sasami in a huff.

"Sorry 'bout that, Sasami. Stupid guys wouldn't let me  
go." Ranma-chan grinned at the blue haired girl. "Come on, lets go  
eat."

Sasami smiled happily, glad that her friend hadn't  
abandoned her for the very boys that hated her the most. The two  
sat under the tree they had been heading for and opened their  
bento's.

"Lets eat!" Ranma-chan exclaimed.

Sasami giggled and shouted out, "Lets eat!"

The two began digging into their food, Ranma-chan eating  
three times as fast as Sasami.

Ranma-chan stopped for a moment, mouth full of food.  
"Thisth isth great!" She swallowed. "You're amazing, Sasami!"

Said girl blushed at the praise. "I'm glad you like it. I'll  
show you how to make it one day."

"Uh. . . n-no, no. You don't have to. That's ok. I'm  
good," Ranma-chan replied nervously. It wasn't so much that she  
didn't want to be girly and cook, it was more that she wanted to  
avoid the hot water that usually was used when making food.

Sasami's face fell slightly. "Oh, ok."

A shadow loomed over them, blocking out the sun. "Do  
ya mind, or do I have to teach you guys another lesson?" Ranma-  
chan growled, trying to see the face of the person standing over  
them as the sun outlined the strangers frame and shone into her  
eyes.

"Whoa! Whoa! Don't attack!" the person said, the voice  
clearly female. She sat down, cross-legged and placed her bento  
down in front of her.

Ranma-chan stared and gulped. 'Wow, she's. . . uh. . .  
uh. . . wow!' The word Ranma-chan was look for was 'hot'.

The girl had long, dark green hair, her eyes, sparkling like  
emeralds, were full of mirth. She was taller than Ranma-chan, a  
full, curvy, figure, including breasts just slightly the same size as  
Nabiki's. Not that Ranma-chan took note of such things. Her  
jeans were as tight as they could be, while her black shirt was  
cutoff a little below her chest, showing off her obviously exercised,  
smooth stomach. A belly button piercing topped it off, like a  
cherry on an ice cream Sunday.

Ranma-chan looked down at her lap, blushing and feeling  
extremely grateful that she was a girl at the moment.

"I saw what you did to those two guys, and I have to say,  
'bravo'," the girl said. "My name is Nariko, Nariko Oda."

"I'm Sasami Jurai, and this is Ranko Sakada."

"Uh. . . hi," Ranma-chan said nervously. She took a deep  
breath, calmed herself, and looked up at Nariko.

"You must be new this year, I've never seen you around  
before," Sasami said, looking at Nariko curiously. 

"Yeah, I just transferred over," Nariko replied. "You guys  
don't mind if I join you, do you?"

"No, no! We'd love the company!" Sasami exclaimed.  
"Wouldn't we, Ranko-chan?"

"Uh, sure, sure, go for it," Ranma-chan said, and hurriedly  
continued eating the rest of her bento.

"How come you're not wearing a uniform, Nariko-chan?"

"Cause I don't want to," Nariko replied, before putting a  
slice of carrot in her mouth.

Ranma-chan eyed Nariko's lips as she chewed on the  
small piece of carrot.

"That's exactly what Ranko-chan said!" Sasami  
exclaimed, referring to Ranma-chan's red Chinese shirt and black  
pants.

Nariko smiled at Ranma-chan, showing off two rows of  
pearly white teeth.

Ranma-chan felt like gaping. 'Is there anything wrong with  
this girl?'

"Where's Asuka, Ranko-chan?" Sasami asked, looking  
around the yard.

"She probably doing Asuka things," Ranma-chan replied  
with a shrug. "She'll meet up with us sooner or later."

"You're a martial artist, aren't you?" Nariko asked  
Ranma-chan pointedly.

"The best in Japan!" Ranma-chan boasted, flexing her arm  
muscles which couldn't be seen underneath her baggy shirt. 'With  
the seed Tsunami gave me, I feel like I could take on 10  
Ryouga's back to back!'

"Rather confident, aren't you." It was more of a statement  
than a question.

"Yup! When you're the best, you're the best. And well,  
I'm the best," Ranma-chan said, grinning.

"Well, I happen to know a little martial arts myself,"  
Nariko stated matter-of-fact. "But probably nowhere near as  
good as you, almighty martial artist." Nariko and Sasami laughed.

Ranma-chan looked up, mouth full of food and said  
seriously, "Nope!"

"Well that was rather blunt," Nariko muttered before  
opening her bento and looking a the contents inside. "Ugh! Friend  
squid! Yuck!" She stuck out her tongue.

"You not gonna eat that?" Ranma-chan asked, her  
chopsticks already hovering near Nariko's bento. The chopsticks  
stopped, circling around the bento like a hawk rounding upon its  
prey.

"I don't know. . ." Nariko said slowly, pulling her bento  
closer to herself. She watched as Ranma-chan's face fell. "I'm just  
kiddin'! Here." She held out her bento.

"Yay!" Ranma-chan cheered, her chopsticks moving so  
fast that neither Sasami or Nariko saw them.

'Wow, that's fast!' Nariko thought, looking down at her  
now squidless bento. "What martial arts did you say you  
studied?"

"Uh. . . the uh. . . Sakada School of Everything Goes,"  
Ranma-chan lied.

"I've heard of a school called 'Anything Goes' before.  
Katsuhito-san talks about it a lot. Is 'Everything Goes' anything like  
'Anything Goes'?" Sasami asked. "Cause he always says that  
while 'Anything Goes' has impressive techniques, 'it's a school of  
lies, cheap tricks, and thieves'."

'Damn old man,' Ranma-chan thought. 'I'll show him how  
good the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts is.'

"Ranko?"

"Oh, uh. . . the 'Everything Goes' is actually the rival  
school of 'Anything Goes'," Ranma-chan explained and thought,  
'That makes sense, in a way.'

"Hmm, interesting. What martial arts do you practice in  
'Everything Goes'?" Nariko asked.

"A whole range of arts. Everything I can learn. It is the  
'Everything Goes' school," Ranma-chan replied. It wasn't really a  
lie, other than the school name.

"What about Hapkido? Do you know any of that?"

"Never used it before. It's a last resort in my book,"  
Ranma-chan replied.

"What's Hapkido?" Sasami asked curiously.

"Brutal art. Practitioners use attacks to break their  
opponents limbs to disable them," Nariko explained.

"It's a dangerous art," Ranma-chan explained darkly.  
"Many of the attacks can and will kill the person they're  
performed on. At least you look the person in the face as you kill  
them though, unlike Ninjitsu where you stab a person in the back."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ranma-chan watched  
Nariko hang her head slightly. He had guess correctly in thinking  
that Nariko was a student of Ninjitsu. The way she had snuck up  
on the two of them, without her noticing until Nariko was right  
behind her had tipped the pigtailed martial artist off. But she saw  
no murderous or malicious intent in the other girls eyes, only  
amusement and now shame.

'Why would a girl her age study Ninjitsu though?' Ranma-  
chan wondered.

"Not all parts of Ninjitsu are bad. There are a few good  
things that come out of it. Particularly the leg training for all the  
jumping and running you do. Not only that but the stealth abilities  
you learn," Ranma-chan explained, noticing that Nariko didn't  
look so ashamed anymore.

"It's a good art for escaping if you're ever in trouble,"  
Nariko added.

"I wish I knew some martial arts," Sasami said slowly.

"I'll teach you some," Ranma-chan replied and thought,  
'It'll make my job of protecting her a little easier.'

"Really? Thanks, Ranko-chan!" Sasami exclaimed,  
reaching over and hugging the smaller girl.

Ranma-chan blushed slightly, unused to such affection without  
and immediately following beating. "Uh, no problem, Sasami."

Nariko smirked at Ranma-chan's obvious embarrassment.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the end of the  
hug. Ranma-chan let out the breath she didn't know she had been  
holding.

Nariko stood, brushing the dirt off her jeans that wasn't  
there. She stuffed her bento back into her backpack, slipping it over  
her shoulders. "Well, it was nice meeting you guys, maybe I'll see you  
later, have a class together, ya know?" She shoved her hands into  
her pockets and turned around to leave.

"Come on, Ranko, we don't want to be late," Sasami  
said, pushing herself to her feet.

"Oh God, why couldn't I have died!" Ranma-chan  
bemoaned.

---------

Ranma-chan sat down next to Nabiki after stepping onto  
the school bus for the ride back to the shrine. "And what scheming  
did you do today?" she asked pleasantly.

"Information scheming," Nabiki replied and handed the  
shorter girl a folded up piece of paper.

"Eh? What's this?" Ranma-chan asked, unfolding it.

"The names of the two Yakuza groups that are currently  
operating within Okayama," Nabiki answered in a whisper.

"TWO?" Ranma-chan exclaimed.

"Shh! Jeez, Ranma, yes two!" Nabiki whispered fiercely.

"The Demon Claws and the Tigers of Kai," Ranma-chan  
muttered, reading the words on the paper.

"From what I've been told, the two gangs have been  
warring with each other for the past two years, since two years  
ago is when the Demon Claws came to Okayama. Only thing is,  
as of right now, they're at a stand off."

"That means they're waiting for the right time to attack?"  
Ranma-chan thought aloud.

"Or that they're waiting for the other to screw up, and get  
busted," Nabiki added.

"Doesn't matter, I'll bring them both down if that's what it  
takes to find Musou and Takenda," Ranma-chan growled softly.

"I'm glad to hear you're still with me on this, Sakada, but don't  
be too hasty. Our only lead is 'Okayama Cleaning'. If we can find out  
which group owns that place, we can find out where Musou and Takenda  
are," Nabiki explained cooly. "No need to go charging head first into a  
war, trying to take out two armies when you only need to take out  
one."

Ranma-chan exhaled deeply out of her nose.

"What're you two whispering about?" Sasami asked from  
across the center isle.

"Uh, girl stuff!" Ranma-chan exclaimed.

"Oh. . . k. . ." Sasami replied slowly, turning away from  
the two. "Weird."

"Nice one, Sakada," Nabiki muttered sarcastically.

Ranma-chan blushed heavily, and stuck out her tongue in  
retort.

"Don't worry, Ranko. We'll find them," Nabiki said flatly.  
"No matter what it takes."

---------

"We're home!" Sasami called out as she entered the  
Masaki home.

"Ah, welcome home. How was your day?" Katsuhito  
asked.

"Same as any other day of school," Ranma-chan replied  
as she entered and kicked off her shoes. "Boring."

"Ah, Ranko-chan! Glad to see you enjoyed school,"  
Katsuhito said warmly, a 'you still have to go' smile plastered on  
his face.

Ranma-chan frowned. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, old man."

Nabiki walked past them, into the kitchen.

"You gettin' a snack?" Ranma-chan asked loudly.

"Yeah!" Nabiki's voice carried from the kitchen.

"Get me something!"

"Actually, Ranko-chan, I was hoping you would spar with  
me again before Nobuyuki returned," Katsuhito said.

"Uh, yeah, but-" Ranma-chan started.

"Then lets go," Katsuhito stated, ushering Ranma-chan  
outside.

"But I didn't get my snack!" Ranma-chan complained  
before Katsuhito closed the front door behind them.

Nabiki exited the kitchen, holding two sandwiches. She  
blinked at the empty room. "Ranko? I've got food! Foooooood!"  
she shouted, waving the sandwiches around. "Damn. . . I was  
gonna charge her a lot for this. . ."

---------

"Now, since we've been sparring together for just a week,  
I think you shouldn't go easy on an old man like me any more,"  
Katsuhito stated, holding his bokken at his side.

"Don't worry, I gotta make this quick, jiji. There's food in the  
house with my name on it, and nothing comes between me and  
food!" Ranma-chan exclaimed.

"Good, then lets begin."

The two stood still, watching one another, Ranma-chan in  
a defensive stance, Katsuhito in no stance at all.

"Come on, old man!" Ranma-chan shouted, frustrated.

"I thought you wanted to get this over with quickly,"  
Katsuhito retorted calmly, "because I can stand here all night  
waiting. Your snack isn't going to eat itself. . . but someone else  
might eat it."

---------

"Where's Ranko?" Sasami asked as she came back  
downstairs.

"HIYAH!"

Nabiki glanced at the door, having heard the battle cry of  
Ranma-chan come from outside. "Uh. . . you still want my guess?"

"Nah, I think I know," Sasami replied, sitting on the  
couch, next to Nabiki. "Whatcha watching?"

"Some game show," Nabiki answered, while staring at the  
tv.

"YAAA-ow! Ow! OW!"

"You want a sandwich?" Nabiki asked, reaching over and  
grabbing Ranma-chan's snack, not blinking an eye at the cries of  
pain from outside. "I'll even give it to you free of charge."

"Oh, really? Thanks!" Sasami grabbed the sandwich,  
eating it with gusto.

"Kachu-Ow! No! Stop, not the chest! OWW!"

The two girls laughed as one of the contestants was  
pushed into the mud vat of shame.

"Oh, God! No more! Oof!"

"Turn it up," Sasami said after swallowing the food in her  
mouth.

"CHEATER! OW! Stop cheating, old man! Ugh!"

The front door slammed open, Katsuhito striding in  
grandly, Ranma-chan following behind, looking beaten mentally  
and physically.

"How'd it go, Ranko?" Nabiki asked, tearing her eyes off  
of the tv as commercials came on.

"Could've gone better," Ranma-chan replied sullenly. "That  
old man is strong. . . Do you still have my snack?"

"Sorry, gave it to Sasami."

"I was gonna eat that!" Ranma-chan whined.

"Sorry, Ranko-chan, I'll go get the first aid kit and patch  
up your scratches," Sasami replied, standing up.

"Thanks, Sasami," Ranma-chan muttered.

"Oh! At next commercial break!" she exclaimed, and sat  
back down.

Ranma-chan groaned, exhaustion taking hold of her legs.  
She slumped to the floor, resting against the side of the couch.  
"Some help you guys are. . ."

Washu appeared beside Ranma-chan, holding a glass of  
greeny white liquid. The ten year old looking girl gave the other redhead a  
cheerful smile. "Here, drink this! You'll feel allllll better," Washu  
urged, proffering the glass to Ranma-chan.

"What is it?" Ranma-chan asked, eyeing the glass warily.

"Just something I whipped up a couple minutes ago when I  
heard you sparring with Katsuhito-san," Washu explained, smiling  
cutely.

"No offense, Washu bu-"

"Ah, ah, ah!"

Ranma-chan sighed. "Washu-chan. I know you consider  
yourself a genius an' all, but you're still only ten," she said tiredly.

Washu pouted, giving Ranma-chan a very hurt look. "I  
just wanted to help," she said, sniffing a little to add to the affect.

"Err. . . but I'm feeling better, really!" Ranma-chan stated,  
trying to sound tough.

Washu sniffled some more, eyes watering.

Ranma-chan flinched. "Err. . . but maybe I'm not feeling  
THAT well," she said, reaching out for the glass.

Washu brightened immediately, smiling as she handed  
Ranma-chan the glass. "I promise it'll make you feel better."

"Uh, right. . ." Ranma-chan muttered, looking down at the  
green-white substance in the glass. Not only did it look like spoiled  
milk, but it smelled just as rancid. Her stomach growled though,  
reminding her that she was hungry. 'Maybe it won't be so bad.  
Maybe it will fill me up. It is chunky. . . looking' she thought with a  
grimace.

Washu looked at her expectantly, thinking on the inside,  
'Drink, guinea pig, drink!'

'Well here goes nothing,' Ranma-chan thought, closed her  
eyes, plugged her nose with her free hand and tipped the glass  
toward her mouth.

Nothing entered her mouth. Opening her eyes, she looked  
around her hand which was plugging her nose, and at the contents  
still in the glass.

Slow like an iceberg, the sludge was sliding out.

"Here, let me help!" Washu shouted, raising her hand and  
smacking the bottom of the glass. The green-white shot forward.

"No Wash-Mmfph!" Ranma-chan's eyes bulged, and she  
swallowed involuntarily. She began coughing violently. Bending  
over, she covered her stomach as it grumbled, seemingly annoyed  
that it had such a strange substance enter it.

"How is it?" Washu asked.

Ranma-chan gasped rapidly, covering her stomach with  
one hand, her mouth with her other. She started panting, fanning  
her mouth.

"Was it tangy? Cause I was going for tangy."

Ranma-chan shook her head, eyes watering.

"S-s-s. . ."

"Sour?"

Ranma-chan shook her head. "S-s-spicy! Ve-very spicy!"

"Odd. . . I'll have to go over the ingredients again and find  
out why," Washu thought aloud. "How do you feel though?  
Better?"

Ranma-chan stared at Washu, wide eyed, as if the little girl  
were insane.

"I'll go get you some milk," Washu said, standing and  
hurrying to the kitchen.

Ranma-chan groaned. "I'm sorry stomach!" She covered  
it protectively. "You can work through this!"

She moaned lightly as she felt it coming back up. 'No, no,  
no! Not going to lose this fight!' Ranma-chan thought, attempting  
to swallow the rising sludge.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, pain stabbing at  
her stomach. She fell into her side, face white, her arms and legs  
twitching pathetically.

"Commercial!" Sasami exclaimed, rising to her feet and  
stretching, looking as if she had just come out of a trance. "Alright,  
Ranko, lets fix you up."

Getting no response, Sasami walked around the couch,  
finding Ranma-chan in a catatonic state. She knelt besides the  
redhead and felt her forehead. "Ranko-chan?" She looked into  
Ranma-chan's blank eyes.

Washu entered the room, glass of milk in hand. She  
stopped when she reached Ranma-chan and frowned. "I knew I  
shouldn't have gone to the bathroom first."

---------

Next Time: Chapter 6 - Sick Day  
Feeling ill because of Washu, Ranma stays home. . . sort of. A  
discovery is made which will ultimately lead Ranma into a giant  
mess.

AN: I have rewritten the Prologue through Chapter 4 of this.  
If you go back, they are. . . VERY different, hopefully fixed  
from how they were before. I didn't like how they were before,  
so if you've got the time, you may want to reread those chapters  
as they're completely different. Things are different this time around.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Email at hawk49er (at) comcast (dot) net  
if you don't want to review here. I will be replying to whatever reviews  
I can, when I have the time. Chapter 6 is almost done and Chapter 5 of  
Demons Candelabrum is just about finished with the prereader. 


	7. Chapter 6: The Sick Day

﻿  
"How're you feeling, Ranko?"

"Ugh. . . like my stomach shriveled up and died,"  
Ranma-chan replied, hands automatically going down to cover  
her stomach.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to school today," Sasami  
said, her hand on Ranma-chan's forehead once again.

"We already went to school today." Ranma-chan  
blinked, looking confused and blushing slightly from Sasami's  
hand resting on her forehead.

"Wrong, Sakada, you were out all night," Nabiki  
responded from where she stood beside Ranma-chan's futon.  
She crossed her arms over her chest, looking thoughtful.

"Ugh!" Ranma-chan's head slumped down onto her  
pillow. "You mean I missed dinner?" she asked, sounding  
distraught.

"Figures that's what you'd be upset about," Nabiki  
mumbled and grinned.

"A guys gotta eat," Ranma-chan said with a shrug.

Sasami gave Ranma-chan a confused look.

Nabiki moved behind Sasami and started waving her  
hands around in warning. Receiving a blank look in return,  
Nabiki cupped and squeezed her breasts, mouthing, 'YOU!  
ARE! A! GIRL!'

Comprehension dawned on Ranma-chan's face. "Aha!  
Did I say 'guy'? I meant 'girl'. It's the fact my dad raised me  
as a boy, ya know, like I said before, yeah, it comes out like  
that sometimes," she rambled in one long, fast sentence.  
Taking a deep breath, Ranma-chan looked at Sasami and  
smiled weakly.

"Um. . . alright. . ."

"Cause I'm a girl. A growing girl. I mean, what guy  
would have these?" she asked, and cupped her breasts, pushing  
them up at Sasami. "No guy, that's who! Not real ones like  
these that is! Cause I mean, I guess some guys can have fake  
ones, but-"

Nabiki smacked Ranma-chan on the back of the head,  
effectively shutting the redhead up.

Sasami frowned. "You sound sick too. I really think  
you should stay home today."

Ranma-chan slumped deeper in her pillow. "Yeah. . . I  
guess so."

--

Disclaimer: I own neither Ranma ½ or Tenchi Muyo, their  
respective owners, Rumiko Takahashi and Masaki Kajishima  
do. If I owned either of them, I wouldn't be writing this fic,  
that's for sure!

"A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds  
green, which otherwise would heal and do well."  
Bacon, Essays: Of Revenge.

Juraian Knight  
A Ranma ½/ Tenchi Muyo Crossover  
By Hawk

--

Chapter 6 - Sick Day

"Katsuhito-san will be here all day to look after you."

"Jeez, Sakada, getting out of school on the second day.  
You sure you aren't faking it?" Nabiki asked, smiling teasingly  
at the redhead.

Ranma-chan glared up at Nabiki. "You wanna trade  
places? I'd rather go to school than suffer through this."

"Whoa, you are sick!" Nabiki exclaimed, looking  
shocked.

"Urgh. . ." Ranma-chan's stomach growled and she  
covered it with her hands.

Sasami smiled. "Don't worry, I'm going to bring you  
your breakfast before Nabiki and I leave."

"Thanks, Sasami, you're the best," Ranma-chan said,  
smiling. "Unlike someone I know."

"Hey! I made you a snack last night!" Nabiki replied  
indignantly.

"Which you gave to Sasami," Ranma-chan pointed out.

"Yeah, well." Nabiki stuck her tongue out at Ranma-  
chan and left the room.

"I'll be back with your break fast," Sasami said and  
followed Nabiki.

Ranma-chan let out a long breath. She didn't actually  
feel that bad, but any day free of school she could get she  
wasn't about to give up. At the same time though, school at  
least kept her mind occupied and free of her recent problems.

She had another dream while she had been asleep,  
much like the rest. This time no Tsunami came to pull her from  
the darkness, and she was left, lost, floating for what seemed  
like forever. The voices called to her again, and she started to  
see faces, only instead of alive, their faces rapidly decayed.  
And then their hands started reaching for her, pulling her  
farther from into the black.

She had finally fought against them, kicking and  
screaming, and clawing at the void around her. Breaking free  
from their grabbing hands, she pushed and pulled herself  
upward, left and right, anyway she could to get away. And  
then she awoke, once again finding Sasami hovering over her  
protectively.

She let out a shuddering breath, feeling her chest rattle.  
And then the guilt weighed down on her again, like forceful  
hands pushing on her shoulders. Depression rolled through her  
body, making her feel utterly weak and defenseless. She turned  
over onto her side, facing away from the door, and curled into  
a tight ball.

Sasami entered the room, carrying a tray of breakfast  
foods. She shuddered and blinked in surprise as she suddenly  
saw her breath in front of her face. The temperature of the  
room had dropped to near freezing, it seemed, her lips already  
feeling blue. Hurriedly placing the tray beside Ranma-chan's  
futon, she covered the smaller girl with her blanket. She moved  
to the window, find it completely closed and locked. The  
morning dew on the outside of the glass was slowly freezing  
before her eyes.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Sasami cupped her hands  
over her mouth and breathed hotly, attempting to warm them  
and her lips. A moment later they were cold again. She quickly  
left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Come on, Sasami! We're gonna miss the bus!" Nabiki  
called from downstairs.

"Oh, uh, coming!" Sasami yelled back. As she hurried  
downstairs, she glanced at the upstairs thermostat, noticing it  
was set at 75 degrees. "Weird," she muttered as she grabbed  
her backpack.

Stepping outside, she braced herself for the cold air,  
but found that it was warmer outside than it had been in  
Ranma-chan's room. She walked around the side of the house  
and looked up at Ranma-chan's bedroom window. It was pitch  
black inside even though the morning sun was shining right  
into it.

"What is going on. . ." Sasami wondered aloud.

She glanced at her window, which was the one to the  
right of Ranma-chan's, noticing the she could see right inside.  
There was no frozen dew on her window either.

"Sasami!" Nabiki shouted from the front of the other  
side of the house.

"Sorry!" Sasami shouted, hopping once and sprinting  
to the front yard.

--

Ranma-chan's eyes snapped open. 'What time is it?'  
she thought, raising her head from her pillow.

She blinked, her eyelids feeling heavy, eyes stinging  
painfully. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, and then looked  
down at her pillow, noting the wet marks all over it. She  
sniffled, her left nostril being stuffed.

"Ugh, I hate crying. . ." she muttered to herself, hitting  
her pillow. She sniffled again, and glanced over at hers and  
Nabiki's alarm clock. "10:37."

She looked around the empty room, the emptiness of it  
echoing in her chest. She stood up, dressed in a t-shirt and  
boxers.

"I gotta get outta here," she said to herself, and quickly  
started to get dressed.

--

There was a soft knock on the door. A moment of  
silence then another soft knock. "Ranko-chan?" Katsuhito  
asked from the other side. "I've got lunch."

The door slid open and Katsuhito entered, balancing a  
tray of food on one hand. "Ranko-chan? It's 12:30, you should  
be awake by now."

A cold breeze rushed by, drawing his attention to the  
open window. His eyes moved to the futon, finding it empty  
and the tray of breakfast food left untouched. Yosho sighed  
and left the room, lunch tray still in hand.

He walked downstairs and knocked on Washu's closet  
door. It opened a moment later, Washu, in child form, stood  
looking up at him. She glanced at the tray in his hands.

"Oh, lunch for me? You're too kind, Yosho-san!" She  
smiled cutely.

"I hope that you know where Ranko is because you  
addressed me as Yosho, instead of Katsuhito," Yosho replied,  
his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Washu grinned. "Gimme the food and I'll show you."

"This is Ranko's lunch."

"She won't be needing it," Washu replied, reentering  
her lab, Yosho following behind.

The diminutive scientist hopped onto a floating pillow,  
a screen and keyboard appearing in front of her. The tray was  
placed on the floor. "Bring up security images from today on  
the Eastern side of the Masaki home around 10:40."

Another screen popped up in front of them, displaying  
the Eastern side of the house, a small clock in the top right  
corner of the screen read 10:41. Ranma-chan's bedroom  
window opened, and in a moment she was falling to the  
ground. The redhead landed lightly and took off in a sprint.

"This doesn't tell me where she is though," Yosho  
pointed out.

A new screen opened, this one showing a flat layout of  
the Okayama city streets. A red dot blinked on the map, not  
moving. "Tracking device," Washu said proudly.

"Where is that?"

"Yoshiokadora Street. She's been there for over 30  
minutes now," Washu explained.

Yosho sighed. "I better go get her."

--

Ranma sat, staring over at Okayama Cleaning, his right  
leg bouncing anxiously. He was sitting at the same restaurant  
that he and Nabiki had sat at before. Originally he had left the  
Masaki house to just take a walk through the city and think.  
He had changed back into a guy, even though he knew it  
wasn't smart, no one had recognized him so far, or paid much  
attention to him. There weren't many articles in the paper  
about him anymore. Ranma Saotome had disappeared off the  
face of the Earth for over a week.

He ended up walking straight to Okayama Cleaning.  
He couldn't help it; he had been drawn there as if he had no  
other place in Okayama to be. And it was almost true, that this  
was where he was really supposed to be.

And now he was waiting. For a man in a suit, or  
someone that looked like a thug.

Ranma's food arrived in abundance. Two different  
types of soup with six different plates of food. Grinning ear to  
ear, Ranma called out his battle cry. "Food!" And started  
eating at a dizzying pace. Though stuffing food into his mouth,  
his eyes never left Okayama Cleaning.

--

"Is she still on Yoshiokadora Street?" Yosho asked as  
he walked down one of the many busy roads in Okayama.

"Yup, still hasn't moved," the microphone in his ear  
replied.

Yosho sighed. "How do we know the tracking device  
hasn't fallen off?"

"We don't. That's why you're checking personally."

--

The food was all gone, no one suspicious looking had  
entered or exited Okayama Cleaning and the bill for his lunch  
was resting in front of him. All in all, it seemed like things  
weren't going to pan out.

He sighed as he looked over the bill. This would not be  
the first time he ran out on paying one. As he started to grab  
his jacket, he looked up. Straight ahead of him, was an  
incoming Katsuhito.

"What the hell is he doing here!" Ranma exclaimed to  
himself. He quickly looked around for a place to hide.

"I don't see her," Ranma heard Katsuhito say to  
himself.

"Crazy old man," Ranma muttered, still not moving  
from his seat, afraid to draw the old mans attention.

Katsuhito stopped and titled his head as if listening to  
someone. The old shrine caretaker's eyes locked onto Ranma's  
and they stared at each other for a brief moment, Katsuhito  
confused, Ranma nervous.

The beefy owner of the restaurant stepped inbetween  
them, arms wide. "Katsuhito-san!" the man exclaimed.

Katsuhito sweatdropped. "Ah. . ."

"It's me! Takashi Himiro!" the large man announced,  
hugging Katsuhito.

Taking this opportunity, Yosho looked over the man's  
shoulder and found the boy gone.

"It's been so long, Katsuhito-san! You haven't changed  
a bit! How come you never visit any more?"

"Ah. . ."

--

"That was a close one."

Ranma sighed deeply as he looked down at Katsuhito  
and the other man. He had jumped up to the roof of the  
restaurant to get away and thanked his lucky stars that he had  
not been spotted doing so.

"Why'd the old man come here of all places and why  
the heck did he look at me," Ranma wondered aloud. "God,  
it's been so hard keeping my curse a secret for the past week,  
and now the old man spots me as a guy. . . It was as if he knew  
I was gonna be here. . ."

He looked across the street and noticed for the first  
time a man in a clean suit and dark sunglasses exiting Okayama  
Cleaning. Having not seen him enter, Ranma assumed the man  
must have done so when he had been distracted by Katsuhito.

"Almost missed you," Ranma muttered, leaping from  
the roof of the restaurant to the roof of Okayama Cleaning  
without a running start. He glanced down at his legs, marveling  
at his strength before jumping down into the alley between  
Okayama Cleaning and the next building over.

As the man walked past the alley, Ranma's hand  
flashed out and grabbed his collar. The man was pulled off his  
feet and into the alley so fast that no one noticed his sudden  
disappearance.

Ranma slugged the man across his face, shattering the  
sunglasses and knocking him into a pile of garbage bags.

"Alright, pal, who the hell do you work for?" Ranma  
asked, grabbing the man by his shirt and lifting him off the  
ground.

The mans face, already starting to bruise, filled with  
surprise. "Wh-what?"

"You heard what I said!" Ranma snarled, throwing the  
man into the garbage bags again. "The Demon Claws or the  
Tigers of Kai?"

The man attempted to stand, but Ranma placed his foot  
on his chest, forcing the man back down. "Talk before I break  
your breast plate into your chest and crush your lungs."

The man gasped, grabbing Ranma's ankle, trying to pry  
it from his chest. He grunted and wheezed as Ranma started to  
press down.

"Tell me who you work for. . ." Ranma growled  
dangerously.

"Claws!" the man gasped out. "Demon Claws!"

Removing his foot, Ranma reached down and picked  
the man up again, holding him in the air. "Where's the proof!  
How do I know you're telling me the truth?" He slammed the  
man back against the building wall, causing it to crack slightly.

The man moved slowly, nervously, reaching over with  
his right hand and rolled up the sleeve of his suit on his left  
arm. There a tattoo lay, imprinted on his forearm: A red  
reptilian hand with sharp nails clutching the world in its palm.  
The man looked at Ranma, eyes wide.

"Thanks for your help," Ranma said as he slammed the  
man against the wall again. "You're lucking I'm in a hurry."

The man fell back into the pile of garbage as Ranma  
disappeared into thin air. The Demon Claw members head  
slumped as he lost consciousness.

A moment later, Yosho ran into the alley. His eyes  
narrowed. "What the hell is going on here, Washu-chan?"

"I don't know, but Ranko's on the movie again. She's  
heading back here it appears, really fast too! I've never seen  
anyone move so fast!"

Yosho sighed, glacing at the unconscious man. His  
eyes took in the tattoo on the mans forearm before he turned  
and started for the shrine as fast as he could. His eyes  
narrowed. 'Why would Ranko attack a member of the Demon  
Claws?' he wondered.

--

Ranma muttered to himself as he leapt from roof to  
roof. His strides were long, only needing two steps on the roof  
to launch himself to the next. "How did Katsuhito-san find me  
like that! He even looked right at me as if expecting me to be  
Ranko. . ."

The next roof he took four steps before leaping over a  
crowded business street. A few people pointed and honked at  
his passing. 'That was close, but now I know who's behind  
Okayama Cleaning!' Ranma thought as he leapt to the next  
building. He landed lightly, walked to the edge of the roof, and  
looked down at the busy street below. His fists clenched at his  
sides.

'I'm gonna tear the Demon Claws apart if that's what it  
takes to find you, Musou.'

--

Yosho huffed as he approached the Masaki house, a  
thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. He had run back to the  
house as fast as he could, but every stride he took, Washu  
would inform him that Ranko was at least two times ahead.

From what Washu had told him, Ranko had arrived 15  
minutes before he had and was toiling around in the carrot  
fields. Puffing out some air, he marched toward the fields,  
finding Ranma-chan down on her knees, pulling out carrots, a  
large basket strapped to her back. It was filled to the brim.

His eyes narrowed. 'How'd she pull so many carrots in  
just 15 minutes?' he thought to himself.

Yosho stepped up beside Ranma-chan. "Where've you  
been, young lady?" he asked seriously.

Ranma-chan grit her teeth at the 'young lady' comment  
but turned to look at Katushito with a sweet smile. "I've been  
out here all day, picking carrots, old man."

"I brought your lunch to your room and you weren't  
there."

"I just said, 'I've been out here,'" Ranma-chan lied  
again, starting to get annoyed at being confronted.

"Washu-chan saw you leave the property. Where did  
you go?"

Ranma-chan snapped. "Look, old man, what I do, and  
where I go during the day is my business and mine alone and I  
don't need you snooping around and following me everywhere  
I decide to go!"

Katsuhito's face turned grim. "That's where you're  
wrong, young lady. The moment we accepted you into our  
house, what you do became my business. I won't have you  
gallivanting around, getting into trouble and bringing it back to  
my home," he explained coldly.

"Listen here, old man, I have things I need to do, that  
need to be done and if you don't like the fact that I have other  
places to be, then that's your problem, not mine, because I'm  
going to keep doing what I need to do!" Ranma-chan retorted  
fiercely.

"If you do continue these things, and continue to try  
and lie to me, or my family, I will have you kicked out of my  
house, do you understand?" Yosho asked quietly.

Ranma-chan stood up, slapping the dust off her pants.  
She gave Katsuhito a look of death. "Alright, old man, you  
better listen, and listen REAL good. All my life I've had people  
telling me what to do, how to live, where to be, or where to  
go, and I'm sick of it. This is MY life and for once I'm going  
to do what I want to do an' what I need to do an' there's  
nothing you can say or do to me that'll stop me. Do YOU  
understand?"

Yosho's hand lashed out, hitting Ranma-chan in the  
stomach. He watched as the short teen dropped to her knees,  
covered her stomach and gasped pitifully for air.

"As I am the caretaker of the shrine, and my son-in-law  
owns the house, you will follow the rules that we put forth or  
else you will find yourself living on the streets. You will go to  
school and no get into trouble. You will do your chores when  
told, and you will not 'ditch' school nor will you ever leave  
this property without telling anyone where you're going, and I  
will know when you're lying to me if you leave and go  
somewhere other than you said you were going." Yosho  
turned and started back toward the house.

"Hurry up and finish this, Sasami and Asuka will be  
home shortly," he added, sounding as if nothing had just  
occurred between them.

Ranma-chan stood and kicked over the basket of  
carrots, snarling.

"And pick up those carrots."

The redhead stood fuming, watching Katsuhito until  
the old man entered the Masaki home. She reached down,  
picked up a carrot, and screaming angrily, hurling said  
vegetable over a hundred yards away.

--

Washu exited her lab as Yosho entered the house.  
Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited for Yosho to  
approached before speaking, "Went a little hard on her, don't  
you think?"

"She attacked a Demon Claw member, you know this.  
Whatever business she has with them I DON'T want brought  
back here where it could endanger any of us. I won't have my  
family put in harms way again because of something she  
'wants' or 'needs' to do."

"What if she really needs to do this? To save her life or  
someone else's?"

"If she really needs to she can leave and find someplace  
else to live, but while she lives under this roof, I will have none  
of it, or her attitude, even if she is Tsunami's chosen  
guardian."

"I really doubt a few gang members could get past the  
security system I've installed around the property," Washu  
countered.

"You don't understand, Washu-chan. The head of the  
Demon Claws, Nobunaga Oda, would not take any attack on  
his organization sitting down. The Demon Claws are very  
resourceful, powerful, and have a seemingly never ending  
supply of cash. Not only that, but almost half of the Okayama  
Police Department is in their pocket.

"If the Demon Claws wanted to destroy this house and  
its inhabitants, they would find a way, and they would not stop  
until they did," Yosho explained, eyes narrowed.

The back door slid open and slammed shut. Ranma-  
chan stomped past them without a word, heading upstairs.

"I don't think she's going to give up on this," Washu  
mumbled.

"Unfortunately, neither do I," Yosho replied after a  
moment.

--

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sakada?"

"The old man is what the hell is wrong with me!"

"What did he do to piss you-"

"He told me I can't do what I want! I can't leave here  
without telling him, or Washu or Nobuyuki where I'm going!  
That if I don't go to school or if I ditch, he'll kick me out of  
the house!" Ranma-chan raged. "He's going to get in the way  
of finding Musou and Takenda!"

"What brought this about?" Nabiki asked cooly.

"I don't know!" Ranma-chan exclaimed, throwing her  
hands up in exasperation. "I need to go out there! I need to  
find out more about the Demon Claws!"

"Why the Demon Claws?" Nabiki asked quietly. "What  
about the Tigers of Kai?"

"I found out that the Demon Claws are the ones who  
are running Okayama Cleaning. I went there while you were at  
school," Ranma-chan explained glumly, still upset.

Nabiki was quite happy though, and smiled almost  
gleefully. "That's great! Now I can focus on finding out as  
much as I can about the Demon Claws and forget about the  
Tigers of Kai."

"Good, the sooner we get through them, the sooner we  
can get Musou."

"It may take awhile for me to dig something  
constructive up on them. Find out who their head boss is,  
where they work."

"Just get it done," Ranma-chan muttered rudely. "The  
sooner we get Musou, the sooner things will be cleared up."

"There've hardly been any articles about us lately,  
Ranma," Nabiki whispered.

"I know, I'm just sick of hiding as a girl, is all."

"So how'd you find out that the Demon Claws are the  
place?" Nabiki asked after a couple seconds of awkward  
silence.

"I confronted one of the guys that left the place,"  
Ranma-chan replied and cracked her knuckles. "Forced him to  
tell me."

Nabiki gave Ranma-chan an annoyed look. "Why  
didn't you find out more?"

Frowning, Ranma-chan glanced at the bedroom door.  
"The old man showed up. Somehow he followed me there,  
even though I was a guy," she whispered.

"How do you know he was following you?"

"Because I just know!" Ranma-chan exclaimed. "He  
and I made eye contact at one point and when we did, he  
looked confused, like he wasn't expecting me to be me."

"That's not good, 'Ranko'."

"You think, Asuka?" Ranma-chan ground out. "But he  
said earlier that he'll know when I leave and go some place,  
and after today I can't help but believe it. I snuck out of here  
as fast as I could without being seen. I KNOW I wasn't seen!  
But no less than forty minutes after I arrived at Okayama  
Cleaning did Katsuhito-san too! I don't know how he followed  
me, especially if he was forty minutes behind me! It doesn't  
make sense!"

"It doesn't make sense unless he was watching you for  
forty minutes before he decided to show up. Where'd you turn  
into a guy? Maybe he saw you do it," Nabiki suggested, trying  
to make sense of the whole situation.

"No. No one saw me. I went into a one person  
bathroom to change," Ranma-chan replied, shaking her head.  
"I just don't get it."

"Neither do I, Ranko. . . there's something definitely  
weird about this place."

Ranma-chan gave Nabiki a questioning look.

In a hushed voice, Nabiki explained, "A healing tree,  
Sasami being a Jurai even though she lives with the Masaki's.  
Same with Washu; her last name is Habiki. Where are their  
parents? Why are Katsuhito-san and Nobuyuki-san taking  
random girls into their home? And what about Washu's closet?  
I've been trying to get into that thing ever since we first got  
here, but it's always locked and everyone just shrugs it off  
when I asked about it. This place is strange. . ."

"Well, Sasami said that Nobuyuki was her uncle. . . but  
I don't know about Washu or her closet," Ranma-chan said.  
"A healing tree though? You've seen weirder things in  
Nerima."

"Exactly my point thought! It's still weird! I don't  
know what, but I'm going to find out. Something is going on  
around here," Nabiki muttered.

"We don't have time for you to snoop around here for  
something that doesn't exist! There's nothing weirder here  
than what happened in Nerima!" Ranma-chan angrily replied.  
"Why can't you accept the fact that we may actually be  
somewhere normal?"

"Because this isn't normal, Ranma! What we're doing  
here isn't normal! Normal people don't get healed by tree  
Goddesses, or hunt down the Yakuza on a daily basis! Shrines  
don't have Kendo masters in charge of them, and I've never  
heard of anyone having natural blue hair and pink eyes. You  
know that's why the kids at school pick on Sasami? Just  
because she looks so different." Nabiki looked read to throw  
something at the wall in her disgust. "Yet they seemed to love  
your redhead look the other day."

Ranma-chan sighed. "Just get off it, Nabiki. Just leave  
it alone, don't go sneaking around trying to find out stuff  
about the Masaki's, and Sasami and Washu," she said and  
stood up, moving to leave. Opening the door, she turned and  
looked at the last Tendo. "You might not like what you find,"  
she added and left.

She walked down the hallway, stopping in front of the  
bathroom door. Knocking lightly, the redhead waiting quietly.

"I'm in here!" Sasami called from the other side.

"Oh, er, I'll come back later then," Ranma-chan  
croaked, embarrassed.

"It's ok, Ranko-chan, I'm only taking a soak in the  
furo! You can join me," Sasami replied.

"Urk! Ah, ah, uh, no, no, I'll just wait! Take your  
time!" Ranma-chan stuttered and hurried downstairs, blushing  
heavily.

"Oi, Ranko," Washu bid as Ranma-chan reached the  
bottom step. The diminutive redheaded scientist stood in front  
of her closet door, holding an apple as red as her hair. She  
took a bite of it and smiled as her fellow redhead approached.

"What's up, Washu," Ranma-chan asked, then added  
after a look, "chan?"

Washu smiled. "I just wanted to tell you," bite of the  
apple, "that you need to understand where Katsuhito-san is  
coming from." She swallowed the piece she was chewing.

"I know where he's coming from," Ranma-chan  
glowered. "He just wants to show me who the boss is."

Washu sighed. "Not even close, Ranko. Katsuhito-san  
isn't trying to show you who's boss, he's trying to protect his  
family and loved ones. Do you understand that? The desire to  
protect the ones you love?"

"Yes. . ." Ranma-chan muttered quietly, "but would  
never do anything to ever endanger anyone here!"

"Katsuhito-san doesn't seem to believe that, and I'm  
sure he's got his reasons. He's a very loving man, and though  
you may not believe it, I know he worries about you too. If he  
didn't care about you, he would've have yelled at you like he  
did," Washu explained.

"That's an odd way to show you care," Ranma-chan  
mumbled.

"If he didn't care, he wouldn't have taken you and  
Asuka in so willingly? He wants to make sure you and Asuka  
are safe, Ranko, and that's why he doesn't want you running  
off on your own, doing God knows what. You could get  
yourself hurt or bring trouble back here which might hurt one  
of us, the people he loves."

Ranma-chan looked at Washu as if she were a  
completely different person. "How old did you say you were?"  
she asked jokingly.

"Aha! Ah. . . hehe," Washu stuttered, rubbing the back  
of her head with her free hand. She dropped the half eaten  
apple, and quickly pulled out a lollipop, sticking it in her  
mouth. She smiled giddily up at Ranma-chan.

Ranma-chan grinned back. "Thanks, Washu-chan."

"You know what this means, right?" Washu asked  
innocently, yet strangely serious at the same time.

"What. . ?"

"You have to be a guinea pig for one of my  
experiments!"

"No."

"Then how about a piggy-back ride!" The genius  
jumped suddenly, latching onto Ranma-chan's back, almost  
knocking her over. "Lets go!" she cried.

--

Yosho smiled to himself as he watch Ranko run around  
the house with Washu on her shoulders. The two redheads  
bounded across the backyard, Washu laughing throughout the  
ride. Yosho could rarely recall a time when he had seen the  
scientist act so young.

Yosho sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. "I hope  
you know what you're doing, Tsunami-sama."

"What about Tsunami?"

Yosho jumped and turned, noticing Sasami standing  
behind him. "Ack! Nothing!" he squeaked, and then cleared his  
throat forcibly. He straightened up and in a much deeper voice  
than his regular, said, "Nothing! Nothing at all! Yes, yes, I  
think I'll go sweep! Yes, I haven't swept in awhile, I think I'll  
go do that!"

Sasami blinked, confused. Had she missed something?  
Her eyes narrowed on Yosho's retreating figure. Was he  
keeping something from her? She blew a strand of her blue hair  
out of her face.

She smiled though, when she noticed Ranko and  
Washu stumble past, the smaller redhead covering the taller  
ones eyes.

"Which way, Washu-chan!" Ranko yelled, hands  
outstretched.

"Go left! No, left! YOUR OTHER LEFT!" Washu  
screamed before Ranko ran straight into the lake, the two fall  
face first into the water.

Sasami laughed out loud and went to retrieve some  
towels.

Next Time: Chapter 7 - The Sleep Over  
Ranma and Sasami are invited over to Nariko's for a sleep  
over. Will they accept? Yes. What does this have to do with  
this story? You'll find out.

A/N: I have the next chapter pretty much all written up... I just  
need to find the first half of it. It's somewhere apart from the  
second half... not good...


End file.
